Chennai: It seems the strike called by JACTTO-GEO that crippled the functioning of government schools and offices for the past one week has come to an end thanks to the firm stand of the State government.
Today, the School Education Department claimed that around 95 per cent of the protesting high school teachers and 70 per cent primary school staffs have returned to their job. In Chennai, 99.9 per cent teachers have returned to work and only four staffs did not come.
Sources said around 600 applications were received for the temporary teachers post and those residing near the schools were being selected.
Sources added that 602 teachers were suspended after they were remanded by the police for 15 days. School Education Department Secretary Rameswara Murugan today passed the orders to suspend 602 teachers who had been arrested yesterday.
With this, the number of teachers suspended has crossed 1,200. The department has already suspended 450 teachers and has decided to announce their posts as vacant. It would recruit temporary teachers to fill the posts.
Chennai Chief Education Officer Thiruvalarchelvi, speaking to mediapersons at Egmore today, said the appointment of the new teachers would be purely temporary. She said 99.9 per cent teachers in Chennai had returned to work and schools were functioning normally.
The official said show-cause notices had been issued to four teachers who did not show up for work in Chennai.
The government had set yesterday as the deadline for the protesting teachers to return to work, however very few staffs turned up. Following this, the government issued orders to appoint temporary teachers in place of the protesting staffs.
The teachers and government staff have been on strike from 22 January, pressing for their 9-point charter of demands that includes returning to the old pension scheme.
The association’s demands include reversal of the contributory pension scheme, payment of arrears according to the Pay Commission’s recommendations, increasing the salaries of secondary school teachers to be on par with the pay of their Central government counterparts, etc.