Temporary teachers burn Giri's effigy

SNS, 19 March 2017, Kalimpong: The Secondary Temporary Teacher Organisation (STTO) today burnt the effigy of Roshan Giri, executive member of Department of Education in Kalimpong.

The STTO members were fired up against Giri who had passed a resolution that any appointment of teachers other than GTA would not be accepted. The resolution has been sent to all junior, high, higher secondary head and to president and secretary of managing committee members of schools. Chief minister Mamata Banerjee in Kalimpong last year had promised to solve the problem of volunteer teachers, after that in last month many volunteer teachers were called to Siliguri for paper verification.

Voluntary teachers are those who have been appointed by the managing committees of secondary and higher secondary schools in the hills. They were recruited because the SSC has been defunct in the hills since 2003.

The 500-odd voluntary teachers are not paid salaries either by the state government or the GTA. They are given monthly allowances depending n the resources that the managing committees can generate.

Just after five days of verification, Roshan Giri called a meeting and passed a resolution in which GTA has express its dissatisfaction to hold the process of verifying the document of volunteer and para teachers of the GTA area at Siliguri.

It also resolved a resolution that a personal representation of state's Department of Education, with regard to holding of verification the document of volunteer and para teachers ought to be held within the territorial jurisdiction of ETA and any appointment other than GTA would not be accepted.

The STTO has been dis-satisfied with the last point. Roshan Chhetri, a volunteer teacher said, "When the government is trying to help us and put the system in place. The GTA couldn't solve our problems but when the state is doing so me goo d work for us, they are interfering in the matter."