School Education dept assures pay protection for PG grade teachers

Kolkata: The School Education department has guaranteed pay protection for the teachers who have post-graduate (PG) degree and are holding PG category post.

These teachers are eligible to apply for the post of PG category if they are within the age limit of 40 years and will be entitled to get protection of their last drawn pay.

A notification in this regard, undersigned by the Principal Secretary of School Education department, has been published. The matter regarding the pay protection of in-service assistant teachers appointed afresh by the West Bengal Central School Service Commission under graduate or PG category has been under active consideration of the department.

A teachers' organisation had met state Education minister Partha Chatterjee at the state Assembly last month, with their demand for pay protection and the minister had assured them that it was under consideration of the department.

It may be mentioned that earlier the department had declared that teachers belonging to PG scale should not appear for examination again to seek transfer to a place near his/her residence. Similarly, teachers of graduate scale were also prevented to sit for examination of the same scale, but were allowed to do so for achieving PG scale.

The department had reasoned that with the provision of transfer to nearby places already available, such teachers need not appear for examination.

However, a section of teachers had moved court challenging the order and got the nod of the court for appearing in such examinations. These teachers were recruited in their new posts by the department, but their seniority was not considered in the pay scale.

They were drawing salary (initial pay) on the basis of their new post. These teachers have been pitching for pay protection and have made rounds to the Education department to press for their demand in the last few months.

"The same principle of pay protection will be applicable for the teachers holding pass graduate degree and pass graduate category of post to apply for the post of pass graduate category of teachers. It will also be applicable for teachers of government-aided madrasas," an official said.