Teacher unions boycott meeting with officials, demand immediate solutions to critical issues
Leaders of recognised teacher associations in the State on Friday (May 16) boycotted the meeting scheduled to have taken place with the Director of School Education V. Vijay Rama Raju to discuss key issues. They accused the School Education Department officials of 'unilaterally implementing policies that will negatively impact the school education sector''.
They said to intensify their protest, teachers across the State would stage protests at the District Education Offices on May 21, and on May 23 a massive demonstration would be staged at the office of the Director of School Education. They also insisted that teacher associations' meetings be conducted only in the presence of the HRD Minister Nara Lokesh.
'We have had 30 rounds of meetings so far, but none of our suggestions have been taken into consideration,' president of the Andhra Pradesh Teachers' Federation (APTF) Ch. Manjula said, speaking to the media outside 'Vidya Bhavan' on Friday. She said the unions had given a representation with 16 demands that they wanted the officials to address at the earliest. 'Should the government ignore our pleas, we will be forced to further intensify our protest,' she warned.
Additional sections
The leaders said in high schools, based on a 1:30 ratio, a second section should be established once student strength exceeds 45. For every additional 40 students, a new section should be created. They said appointing School Assistants as Headmasters of Model Primary Schools was unscientific. They wanted parallel mediums to continue and staff pattern be maintained accordingly.
They said in Foundation and Basic Primary Schools, a third post should be sanctioned once the strength reaches 41. They also demanded promotions to Secondary Grade Teachers in Model Primary Schools and said Headmasters should be appointed accordingly. In Foundation Primary Schools, 1:20 teacher-student ratio should be implemented, they said.
Citing the case of teachers who were given promotions as part of the 'staff reapportionment' exercise taken up in 2023, they said the teachers stared at a similar situation now and faced injustice in transfers.
They said without resolving the issue of Government and Panchayat Raj Service Rules, it was unfair to ask teachers with longstanding experience to move back to their parent management.
The leaders said they had always extended their cooperation to the government in improving the education sector. However, they were opposed to the unilateral decisions taken without considering their opinions and suggestions.
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