Updated: October 28, 2020 11:42:31 am
As the electoral battle escalates, all parties, including the NDA and the Grand Alliance, are trying to win the support of this crucial segment.
On October 24, while publishing Mahagathbandhan’s election manifesto, Hamara Pran, the Opposition’s top ministerial candidate, Tejashwi Yadav, listed equal pay for the 3.5 lakhs of Bihar’s contract teachers if they voted for power, among others. promises. “They would receive the same pay for the same job, for which they have been fighting for a long time,” he said.
More than two months ago, with an eye toward polls, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar also sought to woo the segment, when his government announced a host of benefits for hired teachers appointed by panchayati raj institutions and local urban bodies. Hired teachers appointed since 2006 got a 15% increase in their base salary, among other benefits.
However, the benefits did not cut the ice much with teachers who they said did not meet their demands. In some parts, groups of teachers also burned copies of the order and threatened further unrest.
Bihar’s 3.5 lakh ‘nijyojit shikshak’ have been on strike since February this year, demanding a salary equal to that of permanent teachers, an increase in the retirement age to 65, and state government employee status, etc. While permanent teachers receive a salary of between Rs 75,000 to 1 lakh, contract teachers receive between 25,000 and 30,000 rupees each month. The strike affected teaching and midday meals in more than 40,000 schools before the pandemic.
In 2017, the Patna High Court ruled that teachers hired in public schools were entitled to the same salary as permanent teachers. However, the state government challenged the decision and, in May last year, the Supreme Court ruled in its favor, stating that the Bihar government could have two different cadres of teachers.
Now, as the electoral battle heats up, all parties, including the NDA and the Grand Alliance, are trying to win the support of this crucial segment.
Explained: What does Kanhaiya Kumar bring to the voting table?
.
