BHUBANESWAR: Members of the Orissa Block Grant Secondary School Teachers and Employees Association on Wednesday began their indefinite hunger strike here over their demands. The agitation coincides with the commencement of the monsoon session of the Assembly. The association is demanding abolition of block grant and reinstatement of the grant-in-aid (GIA) system, payment of salary at par with the government teachers and as per the Sixth Pay Commission and extension of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan benefits to block grant high schools. The association represents around 24,000 teachers and employees of 1,983 block grant high schools of the State. In support of their demands, the teachers and other staff have ceased work from August 1 affecting education of over two lakh students. Association president PK Mohapatra said till 2004, schools in the State were being governed by the GIA Act of 1969 but with the introduction of the block grant system in 1,983 schools, teachers and other staff are struggling to make ends meet. They alleged that while teachers in government and semi-government schools were paid a salary of around ` 15,000 a month, under the block grant system they get a meagre ` 4,995 a month for the same nature of job. The agitators alleged that though the School and Mass Education Minister Pratap Jena had urged the teachers to withdraw the strike and cooperate in functioning of the high schools and promised to take a decision on August 4 at a high-level meeting, nothing has materialised so far. “The Minister had also made a statement in the Assembly in 2009 about the constitution of a high-power committee to resolve the issue but no step has been taken yet. When we launched a hunger strike last year, they assured us of coming up with a solution but in vain,” said Mohapatra. The hunger strike would continue until the State Government concedes the demands, he added.
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