Partha to meet agitating para teachers today

Kolkata: State Education minister Partha Chatterjee will hold a meeting with the para teachers at Bikash Bhavan on Wednesday. An organization of para teachers had started their agitation at Central Park from November 11, this year, demanding a pay hike and since November 22, 30 of them are on an indefinite fast.

All the four organisations of para teachers have been asked to be present during the meeting.

It is learnt that the para teachers have also agreed to attend the meeting. "The issue of pay hike and some other issues pertaining to the problem faced by the para teachers may come up in the meeting," a senior official of the state Education department said.

The agitating para teachers' organizations had written to Chatterjee urging him to convene a meeting last Friday.

A year back the Education department had given a pay hike to nearly 22,085 para teachers at primary level from Rs 5954 to Rs 10,000.

Similarly, for 26,585 para teachers at the higher secondary level, the increase in pay was from Rs 8,500 to Rs 13,000. But the para teachers alleged that the salary is meagre considering the present market condition and in comparison with the salary in other professions.

Chatterjee had said that the state is considering a salary hike for the para teachers but they should give the government some more time.