Bhubaneswar: Teachers of block grant schools and colleges will observe Teachers’ Day (September 5) as `black day’ as the government has not regularised their services and brought them on par with their counterparts receiving full grant-in-aid.
Around 60,000 teachers, including those on contract, have vowed to wear black badges and boycott Teachers’ Day, which is observed to commemorate the birth anniversary of former President Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan.
School teacher associations have decided to boycott events organised by the government.
The Odisha School and College Teachers and Employment United Forum (OSTEUF) has been demanding better service conditions and grant-in-aid to all eligible schools and withdrawal of the conditions to avail it. They are staging protests since August 16 at Lower PMG here in support of their demands.
Golak Nayak of OSTEUF said that as the Inter-Ministerial Committee had failed to address their grievances, they have decided to intensify their protest and to observe Teachers’ Day as ‘Kala Diwas’.
OSTEUF President Pabitra Mahala said that around 40,000 teachers would stage a protest demonstration at Lower PMG September 5, and will close down block grant schools from September 6 indefinitely. They will also gherao the residences of MLAs September 6 and 7, he added.
The `black day’ will also be observed by contract teachers in Bihar, Karnataka and Chandigarh demanding equal pay for equal work.