GOALPARA, Oct 20 - At least 12 teachers of non-provincialised venture schools across the State have died due to various health-related problems, including a few who committed suicide due to the Government�s failure to meet their primary demand of provincialisation of all the venture ME/MEM/UP schools, established before January 1, 2006 said the secretary, Goalpara Zilla Sikshak Karmachari Aikya Mancha (GZSKAM) Abdul Rafique Mollah recently.
Talking to this correspondent, Mollah informed that a total of 3,025 schools, which are awaiting provincialisation along with 19,621 teachers also anticipating their service regularisation were left in the lurch, due to the Government�s dilly-dallying on the issue on flimsy grounds, despite all the assurances given to them in earlier meetings with the then Education Minister.
He also added that the post-recognition period was reduced from 10 to 7 years, following an amendment to the Assam Venture Schools Provincialisation Act, 2012 in 2014 which subsequently appeared in a gazette notification, but nothing concrete transpired depriving all the teachers and other office staff members their dues.
Even though harassment and greasing the palm of the officials of the Education Department was a common feature right up to the Director�s office at Kahilipara, the teachers patiently sent their proposals, duly passed by the screening committee with the DC as the chairman at the district level to the Director of Elementary Education, Guwahati, Mollah further said.
He informed that the intention of the Government was quite clear in the midst of a standoff with the Finance Department, as it returned the file after raising a few objections to the Department of Elementary Education.
Abdul Rafique Mollah further warned the Government that if their demands are not fulfilled immediately, then they will be left with no alternative, but to launch a vigorous agitation for pressing forth their demands.
