Guest teachers land at Sirsa BJP candidate’s house, seek benefits

Sirsa. March 28

Guest teachers from Sirsa district, along with members of the Haryana School Teachers’ Union, staged a symbolic demonstration outside the residence of Ashok Tanwar, BJP candidate from the Sirsa parliamentary constituency. The protesters demanded that guest teachers retiring on March 31, 2024, should be given the benefits accorded to regular teachers upon retirement.

Their demands

The protesters demanded that guest teachers retiring on March 31, 2024, should be given the benefits accorded to regular teachers upon retirement. They also sought regular jobs

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Upon reaching Tanwar’s residence, the guest teachers met his representative and told him that despite the BJP’s 2014 election manifesto promising regularisation for guest teachers within 10 years, nothing was done in this regard. Furthermore, the state government’s announcement of equal pay in February 2018 had not resulted in full salary payments even after six years.

Guest teacher Davinder Singh said the demands of the guest teachers, including gratuity upon retirement and medical benefits, remained unmet three years after the government’s recognition of their service retirement in December 2021 and January 2022. “Non-fulfillment of promises by the Haryana BJP government has led to significant discontent among guest teachers,” he added.

Another guest teacher Vandana Malik said that they wanted the government to formulate a policy for their regularisation. They insisted that until such a policy was devised, all promises made to them by the government should be promptly fulfilled. Failure to address their concerns could lead guest teachers, along with various employee organisations and societal segments in Haryana, to leverage their voting power in the upcoming 2024 Lok Sabha elections, she added.