Police Lathicharge Teachers For Boycotting Evaluation Of Matric Exam Papers

Photograph: Ashok Panda

Bhubaneswar: Tension ran high in front of Capital High School here on Tuesday, after police lathicharged the agitating block grant teachers . The teachers had staged dharna in front of the gate and prevented other teachers from entering into the school premises to participate in the evaluation process. Three leaders of the forum were detained by police.

The teachers under the banner of Odisha School College Teachers and Employees’ Joint Forum boycotted evaluation of High School Certificate examination papers at 57 centres across the state on Tuesday.

“We had earlier put our strike on hold after being assured by the state government for considering our demands. But nothing has been done so far. The agitation will continue till all the demands are met”, Odisha Secondary School Teachers’ Association (OSSTA) general secretary Prakash Mohanty said.

In Samblapur, a group of members of the forum staged a dharna in front of Lady Louis Girls’ School and requested other teachers not to cooperate the government in evaluation process. However, the agitating teachers did not prevent those who wished to take part in the valuation of Matric answer sheets.

On Monday, a notification was issued by the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) stating that teachers covered under the newly-framed Grant-in-Aid (GIA) Policy-2017 will not have to submit affidavits to avail benefits under the policy as sough earlier.

School and mass education minister Badri Narayan Patra had requested the teachers to withdraw their strike and cooperate in the evaluation after the agitators staged demonstrations before different valuation centres the same day.