The squatting stir of terminated government school teachers who are seeking fresh jobs entered the fifth day in Agartala on Friday. Three separate forums of former teachers called for an indefinite movement till the State government ensured their direct employment.
The forums have rejected an offer to apply for the 4,005 jobs in various departments that the State government announced recently. The State’s Education Minister Ratan Lal Nath had said that the vacancies were created with relaxation in the upper age limit mainly to accommodate sacked teachers.
Upper age limit of terminated 10,323 teachers relaxed
A total of 10,323 teachers lost their jobs under an order of the Supreme Court after a lengthy legal battle over faulty appointment procedures followed by the previous government.
The Minister on Friday appealed to the former teachers to end the ‘squatting protest’ at the city centre, requested them to appear in the interviews for fresh jobs. He further said the State government had been “very much sympathetic to their cause”.
“No government can provide jobs without due recruitment processes. They [the protesters] should now concentrate on appearing for the interviews,” Mr. Nath stated.
The protesters, however, said the vacancies announced recently were open for all and there was no certainty of their recruitment even if they appeared for interviews. They demanded a special recruitment procedure reserved only for them.
Though the protest has been taking place under the banner of 10,323 terminated teachers, around 1,400 of them have found new jobs in different sectors, and several have passed away over the years.
