Mangaluru: Guest teachers of the Dakahina Kannada unit of the State Government Primary and High School Guest Teachers Association on Monday, August 31, at 11 AM, staged a protest in front of the Mini Vidhana Soudha demanding job security, merit weightage, and a COVID economic package. They also called for a state-wide protest in support of their demands.
Many guest teachers, who are usually appointed in schools where there is a shortage of teachers due to transfers or long leaves, lost their jobs due to the COVID-19 lockdown that came into force in March this year.
The guest teachers urged the government to provide them with ESI and provident fund facilities, ID cards and service certificates, payment of their 12 months salaries in full, salary to be paid in the first week of every month, pass an order preventing guest teachers to be removed from the job and job security, and a COVID financial package. They also sought a hike in salaries.
DYFI state president Muneer Katipalla, who was also present during the protest, accused the government of “neglecting to pay these hard working guest lecturers for the past several months”, pushing them into tough situations that force them to work like labourers. “Is this how the BJP government is treating educated women?” he questioned.
President Chandrika and Secretary of the Guest Teachers Association (AISEC) Chitralekha K also spoke on the occasion. After the stir, the association board members submitted a memorandum to the government through district Deputy Commissioner Dr Rajendra K V.
