Bhubaneswar: In a major decision to meet demands by various teachers and non-teaching employees’ associations, the Odisha government has approved implementation of 15 recommendations of the Ashok Tripathy Committee constituted to look into the issues.
The decision was taken at a high-level meeting chaired by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Friday following a detailed examination of the panel’s recommendations on the institutions and teachers under School and Mass Education and Higher Education departments.
Major decisions include bringing 194 high schools, which were left out of the 2013 government block grant scheme, under the grant-in-aid system and increasing the monthly remuneration of part-time art, music and sports teachers in government schools from Rs 10,000 to Rs 16,000.
It was also decided to pay arrears to trained graduate teachers (TGTs) and physical education teachers (PETs) of government secondary schools who completed six years of service and were regularised in 2022. Regular promotions for primary school teachers and regularisation of sikshya sahayaks appointed between 2016 and 2018 are among the other decisions.
The government will also appoint regular teachers in Prathama and Madhyama Sanskrit tols, include classical teachers serving in government schools in the trained graduate (TG) teachers’ eligibility list and deploy teachers in fully aided Madhyama Sanskrit tols. Vocational instructors will be paid under the regular salary structure, while Odisha Junior Teachers (schematic) will be given an opportunity to acquire higher qualifications.
The decisions also cover Odisha Adarsha Vidyalayas (OAVs). The government will complete and operationalise all residential hostels in the schools and ensure regular salary payments to their employees.
Children of OAV employees will also be allowed to study in these institutions. The previous service of TGTs appointed in OAVs will be counted, with their pay protected.
This apart, AI and robotics laboratories will be established in OAVs.
The pension demand of block grant employees was also discussed at the meeting. However, as the matter is currently under consideration of the Orissa High Court, the government decided to take appropriate action after receiving the court’s order.