Kolkata, Sept. 28 -- Contractual computer teachers engaged under Phases VI and VII of the ICT@School Project protested outside Bikash Bhavan on Monday, demanding job security and direct engagement as government contractual employees. Separately, 2022 Primary TET-qualified candidates staged a protest at Karunamoyee, seeking completion of pending interviews and an increase in vacancies.
The computer teachers marched from Karunamoyee towards Bikash Bhavan, the School Education Department headquarters, but were stopped by police near the office. Several protesters sat and lay on the road before staging a sit-in outside the main gate and demanding that government officials hear their grievances.
The teachers said their engagement through private agencies is due to end on September 30 and claimed they received termination letters on September 23. They fear losing their jobs if a fresh tender brings in a new agency to supply contractual teachers.
They said teachers engaged under the first five phases were subsequently brought under the government's direct contractual system after being taken out of the private agency arrangement. The Phase VI and VII teachers, numbering more than 3,000, are demanding a similar arrangement.
The protesters said they had approached various government departments repeatedly over the past five years but had received no concrete resolution. They refused to send representatives inside Bikash Bhavan, insisting that government officials come out and meet them.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.