Amritsar: Around 200 Elementary
teachers, working under Sangrur Zila Parishad, were today
arrested after they attempted to gherao Rural Development
Minister Ranjit Singh Brhampura and blocked traffic at
different parts of the state.
Most of the arrests were made from Amritsar from where
around 180 ETT Teachers, including 56 female teachers, were
taken into custody after they surrounded the residence of
Rural Development Minister Brhampura, police said.
The teachers were demanding that all ETT schools which
were presently being supervised by Zila Prashid should be
brought directly under the control of state Education
department.
Earlier in Phagwara, 45 ETT teachers, on their way to
Amritsar to take part in the protest, were detained by police
near Chaheru for nearly seven hours. However they were later
released.
Meanwhile, a report from Kapurthala said more than 150
ETT teachers working under Zila Parishads and nagar councils
were detained by police from different locations and later let
off.
SSP Sukhminder Singh Mann said all the detained teachers
were released and no case was registered against them.
The agitating teachers blocked the vehicular traffic on
Kapurthala?Goindwal road near Mundi maur for more than half an
hour.
ETT union leader Rachpal Singh Waraich said the union had
decided to go in for indefinite strike from tomorrow till
their demands are accepted by the government.
He said there were about 13,000 ETT teachers working
under the Zila Parishads and nagar councils.
Education Minister Upinderjit Kaur when contacted said
government was seized of the problems of the striking
teachers.
She said the entire functioning of the teachers were
under the supervision of education department except payment
of their salaries through Zila parishads.
She said there was a need for amendment of the
legislation to bring the teachers under the control of
education department.
The matter was discussed many times in the cabinet and
Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal would take a final decision
on either to bring the teachers under the control of education
department or a separate directorate would be opened to
redress their problems, Kaur said.
Haryana Government already brought the teachers under the
control of Education department, according to union leaders.
There are five thousand schools under the control of
Zila Parishads and nagar councils. Of 13,000 ETT teachers,
more than 12,000 teachers were under the control of Zila
parishads while merely 800 teachers were under the control of
nagar council.
PTI
