More than 13,000 junior teachers gathered at Lower PMG in Bhubaneswar on Thursday to press for regularisation of their jobs. The protesters alleged that despite a government notification, their services have not yet been regularised.The agitators, including both male and female junior teachers, staged a massive protest, raising concerns over the allegedly “unusual delay” in implementing the State government’s notification regarding their employment status.According to the protesters, the Odisha government has already issued a notification concerning regularisation, but the process has not been carried out as expected. They maintained that they have gathered in the Capital City with a single demand — regularisation of jobs.The large-scale demonstration at the Lower PMG brought together teachers from different areas, with the protesters seeking action on the issue at the earliest. The gathering was aimed at drawing the State government’s attention to what the teachers described as a continuing delay despite the existing notification.The protest comes amid demands for clarity and implementation of the applicable service provisions for junior teachers. The demonstrators said they would continue to raise their voice over the issue until their demand is addressed.The massive congregation at the Lower PMG has once again brought the issue of junior teachers’ service regularisation into focus in Odisha.“The State government order issued on April 2nd in line with their promise was stayed by the High Court within a few days. Since then, the government has been dragging this case with date after date. It has been five months, yet they haven’t filed any affidavit. This is what forced the junior teachers to take to the streets again,” an agitator told OTV.“We struggled hard to get our postings, and even after that, we are struggling for a regularisation order. We were once happy thinking the government would regularise us, but the cycle of court dates continues. The State government has not regularised us yet; their announcement and order have remained confined only to offices,” the agitator added.
Over 13,000 junior teachers protest in Bhubaneswar demanding regularisation
