No Relief for Protesting SSA Teachers in Jammu and Kashmir

The lives of over 1.5 lakh teachers in Jammu Kashmir, along with their families, are on the line as the state government remains apathetic to their demands. The teachers, who were appointed by the State Selection Board (SSB) under the central government's Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA), have been awaiting their salaries for over five months and have now finally resorted to a hunger strike as all other means to garner the government’s attention have failed. The collective of teachers, organised under the banner of a Joint Action Committee (JAC) are protesting in Srinagar’s Parta Park and Jammu’s Press Club. “The agitation has been ongoing since the past four months. We have been the target of water cannons, lathis, detentions and arrests, yet there is no response from the state.” said Qayoom Wani, who is presiding over the JAC.

As previously reported by NewsClick, they have not been receiving the benefits of the Seventh Pay Commission as the state government refuses to recognise them as employees. Wani says, “The teachers under the ambit of the scheme were recruited on the basis of merit, in a transparent manner. The teachers have previously availed the benefits of the other pay commissions and regular salaries.” Currently, the financial backlog of the salaries is estimated to be approximately Rs. 1,300 crore if the benefits of the Seventh Pay Commission are taken into account.

The protesting teachers have in the past made repeated efforts to get clarity over their status from the state government. Prior to the imposition of governor’s rule in the state, former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti had promised action on their demands. After the imposition of Governor’s rule, the SSA, RMSA and master grade teachers collectively staged protests last month in to draw the attention of the new Governor, Satya Pal Malik. However, their efforts yielded no results. Instead,  they were greeted with water cannons and lathi charge when they attempted to reach the secretariat. In the context of their demands, Wani raised some pertinent questions, “Are we not the citizens of this state?” Questioning the state’s apathy he said, “Is it because we are poor hard working teachers with not enough influence for the government?”

The teachers in the state have become the latest victims of the failures of successive governments in establishing clarity over the SSA scheme. The project which started with the vision of universalisation of education is crumbling under the burden of political apathy.  

The State of Affairs

The protesting teachers were recruited through the scheme for a period of five years, post which their contracts were to be revived. They were also promised regular pay, a yearly increment and time-bound promotions. Once their term was coming to an end, the state instead of filling up posts of the master grade teachers, promoted the in-service SSA teachers to the  upper primary school (UPS) level, thus making them state employees and availing their services in SSA upgraded schools.

The government committed another failure by treating the SSA teachers at par with Rehbar-e-Taleem (RET) teachers, who were appointed on a contractual basis based on the fact that they had the highest qualification from a particular village. The RET teachers were to be absorbed by the state department, however, this promise was also not fulfilled. The merger of SSA with the Samigrah Shiksha Abhiyan has added to the woes of the teachers as there is no clarity over  the allocation of finances for payment of the teachers and is leading to questions over which category the teachers will now fall in.

The protesting teachers have been reiterating  that they were employed on the basis of merit, through a transparent process. The government’s denial of their rights is a blatant indictment on the part of the state. As the teachers have been on the hunger strike many have been reported sick and some have been hospitalised as well.

Despite this, the state has not responded positively at all.  The Governor has not even for once reached out to the protesting teachers. Their demands include the creation of an autonomous committee to look into the matter. Beyond this, the teachers are also demanding that their salaries must be linked to the MHRD fund. Wani said, “When the builders of the nation are treated like this, it goes on to say a  lot about the impact it will have on the education.” Commenting on the future course of action, he said, “If this continues, the teachers will go on an indefinite strike. If anything happens to any of us, it will be the responsibility of the state.”