Teachers wear black badges, oppose new pension scheme

Seeking the restoration of the Old Pension Scheme (OPS), government primary school teachers across the district and state wore black badges in protest against the Union government’s decision to implement the National Pension Scheme (NPS) for government employees, including teachers.

Hari Om Rathi, president of the Haryana Primary Teachers Association (HPTA), affiliated with the All India Primary Teachers Association, said teachers across the state observed a protest day by wearing black badges during duty hours. He emphasised that the teaching community was deeply disappointed with the government’s decision to discontinue OPS and replace it with NPS, which he claimed was not in the best interest of government employees, including teachers.

Chatar Singh, state treasurer of HPTA, criticised the abolition of OPS as an "anti-employee" move and reaffirmed the teachers' collective demand for its restoration. "Wearing black badges was part of our protest and it did not disrupt classroom teaching or official duties," he clarified.

Condemning the introduction of NPS, he accused the government of adopting double standards. "While OPS remains intact for elected representatives like MPs and MLAs, teachers and government employees appointed after 2004 were stripped of their pension rights in one stroke," he said. He further argued that teaching has become increasingly challenging and the lack of proper incentives or pension security could negatively impact the education sector in the long run.

"A pension is the rightful entitlement of employees. The government must restore OPS in the larger interest of teachers and society," stated a union spokesperson, adding that the demand will persist until it is met.