Odisha govt forms high-level committee to examine teachers' long-standing demands
Bhubaneswar, Dec 3
Odisha Government has formed a high-level committee under the chairmanship of former IAS officer Ashok Kumar Triparthy to examine the long-standing demands of teachers, lecturers, and staff working at various educational institutes under the School and Mass Education (S&ME) and the Higher Education (HE) Departments.
The high-level committee will submit their report to the state government within six months.
Announcing the decision in the Odisha Assembly on Wednesday, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi stated that there are various types of government, aided, and unaided non-government educational institutions under the School and Mass Education Department and the Higher Education Department of the state government.
He added that teachers, lecturers, and staff working in these educational institutions have been presenting various demands before the state government from time to time.
"Discussions have also been held on these demands at different points in time. Taking these matters seriously, the state government has decided to constitute a high-level committee under the chairmanship of Shri Ashok Kumar Tripathy, Indian Administrative Service (Retired), to examine the set of demands of teachers, lecturers, and staff. The committee is expected to submit its report to the state government within six months," CM Majhi said in the Odisha Assembly on Wednesday.
Earlier in September this year, thousands of teachers and staff from non-government aided and unaided educational institutions had observed the Teachers' Day as a "Black Day" to highlight their long-pending demands.
Meanwhile, the president of the Odisha State Non-Government Lecturers and Employees Association, Biswaranjan Das, expressed shock over the announcement of a new high-level committee.
Das said that another high-level committee had already been formed in December last year to examine the demands of teachers. That committee has held four meetings with all stakeholders and has yet to submit its report to the government.
Expressing displeasure over the latest announcement, he remarked that when the previous committee was still examining their concerns, the creation of yet another committee by the state government appears to be nothing more than an attempt to mislead teachers and delay the process.
— IANS
Reader Comments
As the association president quoted, I must say this is deeply frustrating. A committee was formed last December and hasn't submitted its report. Now a new one? This feels like a classic tactic to buy time and pacify the agitation without any real intent to solve the issue.
My sister is a teacher in a private aided school in Cuttack. The struggle is real – delayed salaries, no pension benefits. Observing Teachers' Day as a Black Day shows how desperate they are. The government needs to act, not just form committees. Enough of 'inch-by-inch' progress.
Ashok Kumar Tripathy sir is a respected retired officer. If anyone can cut through the red tape and give a fair assessment, it's him. Let's give this committee a chance. Six months is a reasonable timeframe. Sometimes a fresh perspective is needed.
This is about our children's future. Demoralized teachers cannot provide quality education. The government must streamline this. Why have two parallel committees? It wastes resources and creates confusion. Just implement the recommendations of the first one!
Interesting to see this process. From an outside perspective, forming a new committee while one is already working does seem like an administrative overlap. Transparency about why the first committee's work is being superseded would build more trust.
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