AASSATA threatens hunger strike if SSA teachers' demands not met

Itanagar, May 23 (UNI) All Arunachal Sarva Shiksa Abhiyan Teachers' Association(AASSATA) has threatened to go on a hunger strike if the 3,344 odd assistant and junior teachers in Arunachal Pradesh posted under centrally-sponsored Sarva Shiksa Abhiyan(SSA) were not regularised.

Uncertainty loomed large over the fate of 3,344 odd assistant and junior teachers in Arunachal Pradesh posted under centrally sponsored Sarva Shiksa Abhiyan (SSA), as the state government has so far failed to moot out any policy for their regularization.

The teachers serving for the last five years feel insecure of their future as regularisation of their services remained a distant dream even after repeated pleas to the government to consider the same.

Though the state has already regularised services of 200 Hindi teachers posted under another central scheme Operation Black Board, it has so far not shown any interest towards the SSA teachers, lamented M Ralongham, president of All Arunachal Sarva Shiksa Abhiyan Teachers' Association(AASSATA) during a press conference here this morning.

The assurance of the government to regularize the teachers by 2010 failed to provide us relief as the Centre has decided to extend the programme till 2016, he said and added that there were reports of recruiting another one lakh teachers under this scheme.

Our future has been jeopardised as due to over age we cannot apply or sit in interview for other jobs, he added.

While demanding the state government to go for a clear-cut policy for regularisation of the teachers under SSA on experience, the association further threatened to sit on a hunger strike if its demands were not met immediately.

Besides demanding for the creation of 4,000 post of assistant and junior teachers immediately, the association also pleaded the government to accommodate all SSA teachers in government schools with 80:20 (eighty per cent tribal and twenty per cent non-tribal) basis and to stop fresh recruitments.

Referring to a recent circular issued by the education department for continuation of service of 200 officiating teachers, whose tenure ended on April 17, the association questioned the integrity of the department saying the move had deprived many genuine and deserving candidates.

UNI