New Delhi, January 4
The schoolteachers of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, who had been on a strike for the past 20 days, today decided to suspend their strike till January 8 following an assurance from the former Delhi Chief Minister and sitting MP from Outer Delhi, Mr Sahib Singh
Verma, that the Union Cabinet would take a “favourable decision.”
“We have suspended the strike on the assurance given by Mr
Verma,” the president of the Joint Action Committee of MCD teachers, Mr K. K. Gandhi, said. The teachers, however, threatened to review their decision if the government decision was not favourable to them. Even Mr Verma voiced his support to any such move by the teachers, as their demands were “just and long pending.” More than 23,000 teachers were on strike since December 15, which marred the studies of nearly nine lakh students in MCD 1,851 schools in the Capital.
Mr Verma said “the Prime Minister himself has given me an assurance that he would favourably consider the recommendation of the Union Human Resource Development Ministry during the proposed Cabinet meet on January 8.”
The HRD Ministry has recommended that the teachers should be paid the wages as per the Fifth Pay Commission recommendations from January 1, 1996 and parity with TGTs and PGTs would be maintained. Implementation of the Fifth Pay Commission recommendations would result in the one-time exchequer demand of Rs 125 crore and an annual expenditure of Rs 20 crore. If the Cabinet decision is
favourable, it would enhance the salaries of MCD schoolteachers, but also of those teachers in Navodaya
Vidyalaya, Sarvodaya Vidyalaya, NDMC schools and other schools in the Union Territories. Mr Verma said the Mayor, Mr Shanti Desai, had assured that “there would be no victimisation” of teachers. He said the remarks of the MCD Commissioner, Mr S. P.
Aggarwal, were within the rules.
Delhi Chief Minister Ms Sheila Dikshit has also assured that the SAB certificates, which are equivalent to
BEd, would be re-introduced to enable the teachers to compete for TGT posts. The former Delhi Education Minister, Mr Narandra
Nath, had scrapped the SAB certificate scheme. The special teachers – those who teach music, games and other activities – would also be eligible for TGT posts, but within the 42 per cent quota for the primary schoolteachers for TGT vacancies. The Delhi Chief Minister had assured me and a formal announcement would be made next week, Mr Verma said.
