In Sambhal, ‘Shiksha Mitras’ boycotted their duties and locked primary schools. They handed over a memorandum, addressed to President Pranab Mukherjee, to District Magistrate seeking permission for euthanasia stating that after the High Court’s order they did not want to live as their “careers were at stake”.
The protest was held under <g data-gr-id="19">banner</g> of UP Siksham Mitra Sangh and Siksham Mitra Welfare <g data-gr-id="22">sangh</g>.
In Gonda district, Siksha Mitra held a sit-in in front of Mahatma Gandhi statue and did not perform duties in the school. They also wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to clear hurdles in their regularisation or give them permission for euthanasia, UP <g data-gr-id="27">Siksha</g> Mitra Sangh’s divisional President Ramlal Sahu said.
He said that they would continue to boycott their work tomorrow also and added that they had sent 500 letters to PM in this regard. Similar, protest were also held in various districts, including Lucknow, Sitapur, <g data-gr-id="26">Deoria</g>.
In a setback to nearly two lakh “Siksha Mitra” appointed in primary schools across the state, the Allahabad High Court had on September 12 declared as illegal the state government’s move to regularize them and appoint them as Assistant Teachers.
A special three-judge Bench, comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, Justice Dilip Gupta and Justice Yashwant Verma, also quashed the amendments brought in the state education department’s rules whereby nearly 1.71 lakh “Shiksha Mitras”, were being regularised.
Irani faces ad-hoc teachers’ protest
HRD Minister Smriti Irani had to face a hostile crowd of '<g data-gr-id="41">shiksha</g> <g data-gr-id="42">mitras</g>' (ad-hoc teachers) on Monday as she arrived to deliberate on the new education policy at a meeting with education ministers of four states. The angry teachers, whose assimilation as permanent staffers in government schools was struck down by the Allahabad High Court last week, demanded justice from the minister. As education ministers of UP, MP, Chhattisgarh and Uttarakhand were deliberating on the new education policy format at the Ram Manohar Lohia Law University, hundreds of '<g data-gr-id="43">shiksha</g> <g data-gr-id="44">mitras</g>' gathered outside the meeting venue and demanded an audience with Irani. When the request was turned down by officials, who said she was there to discuss the new education policy draft, the agitated people started raising slogans and staged a sit-in.