Primary teachers call off strike after state govt agrees to meet demands

Tribune News Service

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Shimla, June 7

Primary teachers, who were on a chain hunger strike, in protest against the state government’s decision to merge the Directorate of Elementary Education with the Directorate of Higher Education into a single Directorate of School Education, called off their strike after 43 days on Saturday as Education Minister Rohit Thakur assured them that no more changes would be made in the directorate.

The minister gave this assurance to the teachers during a meeting that was held here. During the meeting, Thakur said though the merger of the Directorate of Education would remain intact, further decisions regarding would be taken by a committee headed by Director of School Education Ashish Kohli. The panel would also include primary teachers. The minster also agreed to fulfill various other long withstanding demand of the primary teachers.

After being assured by Thakur, the teachers ended their strike in his presence.

Jagdish Sharma, president, Primary Teachers’ Federation, said today, a thorough and progressive discussion regarding the demands of the primary teachers was held with the Education Minister. He said during the discussion, the minister assured the teachers that all their demands would be considered by the government and efforts would be made to fulfill their demands. “As a result of the meeting, we have agreed to call off the strike,” he added.

Earlier, the federation had opposed the state government’s decision to create the Directorate of School Education to deal with all matters pertaining to pre-primary to Class XII. The primary teachers had claimed that the Directorate of School Education was created without consulting the stakeholders and it would affect the standard of education in the state.