Bhubaneswar: Chief Minister Mohan Majhi on Friday approved regularisation of contractual/schematic junior teachers of various government-run and government-aided schools in odisha.
“It will cover junior teachers appointed on a contractual basis in the 2023-24 academic year. As a result, more than 13,000 such teachers across the state will now gain regular status,” a CMO release said.
It further noted that these teachers will be treated as regular employees from the date of their initial joining in service. However, they will receive notional benefits (including arrears or pay fixation adjustments) for the period from their joining date up to December 31, 2025. Starting January 1, 2026, they will be entitled to full regular employee salaries along with all other applicable benefits and allowances.
This step is seen as a major boost to job security for elementary education staff in Odisha, aligning with ongoing efforts to strengthen the state’s school education system.
The junior teachers, under the aegis of the Odisha Junior Teachers (Schematic) Association, had been conducting protest rallies and dharnas, demanding regularisation of their jobs. They argued that more than 13,000 junior teachers continued to work on a contractual basis for the first six years of their employment despite abolition of the contractual system in government jobs.
Though the BJP-led state government had earlier increased their monthly salary from Rs 11,100 to Rs 16,100, the contractual system stayed.
