Bhubaneswar: Hundreds of teacher aspirants on Saturday staged a protest at Lower PMG here for the sixth consecutive day, demanding immediate recruitment against vacant teaching posts in government schools across Odisha.
The protest was organised by the All Odisha Teachers Aspirants Association, which has been demanding the filling up of vacant posts in government primary and high schools, special educator positions and Odisha Adarsha Vidyalayas across the state.
The protesters held placards carrying the slogan, “Pratisruti nuhen, nijukti dia. Aame magu nahun bhika, aame maguchhu aam hak” — “Not promises, give us jobs. We are not begging for alms; we are demanding our right.”
The agitating aspirants said they had been sitting at Lower PMG for the past six days to press the government to initiate the recruitment process.
“We, the All Odisha Teachers Aspirants Association, have been sitting here for the last six days. However, the state government is portraying us as people involved in politics. We are here to demand recruitment, not for any political purpose,” an aspirant said.
The aspirant also alleged that School and Mass Education Minister Nityananda Gond, during his interaction with the protesters, questioned whether voting for the government meant that the government was answerable to them.
The aspirant further alleged that Ekamra-Bhubaneswar MLA Babu Singh told the protesters that they did not appear to be teacher aspirants and questioned their capability to become teachers.
“We have completed BPED (Bachelor of Physical Education), MPED (Master of Physical Education) and CPED (Certificate in Physical Education). We are qualified and are seeking an opportunity to be recruited,” the aspirant said.
Association president Swagat Das said a delegation of the protesters met the School and Mass Education Minister on Friday and raised their demand for immediate recruitment.
“Our delegation met the School and Mass Education Minister yesterday. The minister told us that the government is already providing 26,000 jobs and that no further jobs would be given at present,” Das said.
According to Das, the protesters told the minister that the 26,000 posts referred to by him had been announced by the previous government.
“When we raised this issue, the minister said, ‘Whoever plants the tree, we are the ones who give the fruit,’” Das said.
Das claimed that around 60,000 teaching posts were vacant in primary schools and more than 15,000 posts were vacant in high schools across Odisha.
The association said the large number of vacancies was affecting the functioning of government schools and urged the state government to take immediate steps to fill the posts.
The protesters demanded that the government issue recruitment notifications and initiate the selection process without further delay.
Another aspirant alleged that the protesters were being dismissed as non-serious candidates despite having the required qualifications.
The aspirant also referred to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s use of the phrase “dimagi Naxal” during his Independence Day address from the Red Fort on August 15, and alleged that similar remarks were made by the School and Mass Education Minister against the protesters.
The association said the agitation would continue until the government takes concrete steps towards recruitment against the vacant teaching posts.
