Ahmedabad school strike: Teachers return to work after show-cause notice
The Diwan Ballubhai High School teachers in their response to the notice stated that they 'were unaware' that they had to inform the DEO office about the strike.
The school management also submitted its response in writing to the DEO office on Tuesday.
In their written reply to the notice issued by Ahmedabad (city) DEO Rohit Choudhary, teachers have alleged discrimination in the recent salary hike given by the school administration
'We had verbally brought the matter to the notice of the school principal twice and had requested him to look into it but there was no response … This was the reason we went on strike. We were unaware that we had to give information in writing to the DEO regarding the strike,' the teachers stated.
'We believe that students and parents have faced inconvenience due to the strike, which was not our intention,' the teachers said.
Officials at the DEO office said that as of now no action has been taken against the teachers.
The management in its response to the show cause notice has stated that the school has introduced a 'performance based' increment process from this year.
'It is up to the DEO to take action as we have submitted our response. Teachers not going to class is uncalled for. They could have followed the process, reached out to the principal or management if they had any grievances. The increment as per the performance, which we had introduced from this year, was announced on Friday and they went on a strike on Monday,' Diwan Ballubhai trust managing trustee Amitabh Thakore told The Indian Express.
Earlier a flat increment was given to the school staff instead of performance-based evaluation from this year.
Citing a violation of Right to Education Act, DEO Chaudhary on Monday had demanded a reply to the show cause notices issued to teachers and management, by Tuesday.
'Teachers sat on a dharna over the salary increment issue. They did not have any prior approval and they did not inform us also about any such protest. Due to their protest, the students had to suffer. Same goes with the management… why did they fail in resolving the issue and why was it not discussed with the DEO office,' Chaudhary told The Indian Express.
'It is to be informed that on 11/08/2025, the teachers have gone on strike in the school. Due to this incident, the students were made to sit in the classroom without any academic work and the DEO was also not informed about it in advance,' the notice said.
'Also, the school did not give any reply when the parents asked the school management about the issue,' the notice stated.
'Why should you not be held responsible for spoiling the academic work of the students today? And why should your one-day salary not be deducted for affecting the academic work of the children due to your disagreement with the trust?,' stated the notice. 'You have put the future of the children at stake, which is considered a serious matter. Thus, you have clearly violated the rules of the RTE Act 2009… for which why should punitive action not be taken against you? All teachers are requested to submit an explanation regarding this immediately through the school principal within a day. If there is a failure to do so, it will be assumed that you have nothing to say and further action will be taken as per the rules,' stated the notice further.
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