Miffed para teachers threaten fresh stir

RANCHI: The state para teachers have expressed dissatisfaction over the human resource development's (HRD) failure to set up the proposed committee promised by the Jharkhand government to look into their problems. This despite the fact that the para teachers, who had gone on an indefinite strike over the issue, had called off their strike and joined duty over a month ago.In fact, the government's failure to set up the proposed committee thus far has led a major section of the para teachers to believe that the state HRD department is not keen to resolve the issue at the moment.Prakash Pandey, a para teacher, said, "We withdrew the strike in the hope that the HRD department will look into the matter. Sadly, many days have passed and still the department concerned has not taken any initiative to set up the proposed committee to resolve our problems." State HRD minister Baidyanath Ram had promised the teachers that the committee would include three members of the para teachers's association. The committee was supposed to look into the demands like hike in honorarium and regularization of the teachers.Vinod Tiwari, district head of Para Teachers' Association, said, "We have approached the minister several times before but each time he says it will be formed soon. We are now losing confidence in the government and do not think that the committee will be ever formed."He said if the committee was not set up soon, the papa teachers continue to fight for their rights."If it (commiitte) does not come up soon, we will again hit the streets and fight for our rights. We will hold a meeting on December 23 to decide our future course of action," Tiwari said.The teachers had been on a strike over the issue from August 28 to November 2.On the other hand, staff members of 52 temporarily-affiliated colleges of the state are also on a strike since November 23, 2012. One of the striking staffers said their appeals would fall on deaf ears as the state was still indifferent to the para teachers' demands.Spokesperson of Sambaddh Degree Mahavidyalaya Mahasangh Ravi Sahu said last year the government had promised to form a committee to look into their demands but since then no steps had been taken in this regard. "It seems we'll have to call a strike again and this time we will not call it off until our demands are met."The HRD minister, on his part, asked the para teachers and staffers of temporarily-affiliated degree colleges to have patience. He said, "The committee for the affiliated degree colleges have been set up long ago and it has already submitted two reports to me. Action will soon be taken on the basis of the reports submitted." About the para teachers, Ram explained, "The committee could not be formed as the principal secretary was out of town. Now that he has returned, a meeting will be called to select the members for the committee. The committee will be constituted soon."