HYDERABAD: Government teachers across India have planned a massive agitation to raise their voices over several pending demands including restoration of the old pension scheme, stopping the merger and closure of schools, filling all vacant posts immediately and reducing the burden of non-teaching work. The agitation will begin from January 5, and in Telangana it will begin from January 9.

Teachers have also planned a massive march to Parliament in New Delhi on February 5.

Under the All India Joint Action Committee of Teachers’ Associations, it has been decided that government school teachers will protest from January 5 to 9 by wearing black badges. Nearly 29 lakh government school teachers across the country are affected by the mandatory Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) qualification for in-service teachers. In this regard, the associations have decided to mobilise a large number of teachers for the march to Parliament during the Budget Session on February 5.

Citing the demands, Ravi Chava, general secretary of the School Teachers Federation of India and president of the Telangana State United Teachers Federation (TS UTF), said that in-service teachers appointed before the Right to Education (RTE) Act should be exempted from the mandatory TET requirement, or given permanent relaxation or amendment to protect their service, promotions and livelihoods. He said the State and Central governments should amend the RTE Act, if required, to safeguard the jobs of existing teachers and apply TET prospectively only to new appointments. He also demanded restoration of the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) for all teachers, withdrawal of provisions of NEP 2020 that harm public education, and reduction of non-teaching work, confining teachers to academic duties alone.

On-duty facility granted to teachers appearing for TG-TET

Hyderabad: The Telangana School Education Department has issued orders granting on-duty facility to in-service teachers appearing for the ongoing Telangana Teacher Eligibility Test (TG-TET). The decision follows representations from several teachers’ unions seeking on-duty facility or special leave for in-service teachers appearing for the examination.

In its order, the department stated that teachers appearing for TET for the first time will be provided on-duty facility on the exam day, provided the qualification is mandatory for their current posting. This facility will be granted only once. Meanwhile, on Sunday, Dr E Naveen Nicolas, Director of School Education and chairperson of TG-TET, visited one of the test centres at iON Digital Zone, Old Alwal, to monitor the conduct of the examination. He advised officials to ensure transparency and a candidate-friendly environment for the smooth conduct of the exam.