Guwahati. The Assam government has decided that teachers who have been working as contractual (temporary) teachers for more than 14 years will now be made permanent (regular). This decision of the government will benefit at least 4,669 contractual teachers who are working in high schools.
In 2010, the Congress government appointed at least 8,000 teachers on contract basis to teach subjects such as English, maths and general science in high schools across the state. However, many teachers have left the job over the years and currently 4,669 teachers are working on contract posts.
Initially, these teachers were getting an honorarium (salary) of Rs 8,000 per month, which was later increased to Rs 15,000 and then to Rs 20,000 per month. The Assam Cabinet has decided to make the jobs of contract teachers permanent in a meeting late on Friday night.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said, “During the Congress rule, teachers in high schools were recruited on a contract basis. In 2021, the BJP government extended the service of contract teachers till the age of 60 years and gave them many facilities at par with regular teachers.”
He said, “There are 4,669 teachers working in various high schools in the state. The cabinet has decided to make their jobs permanent. The education department will issue an advertisement in this regard in the next ten days.”
He said, “However, contract teachers have two options. If a teacher wants to continue in their current post, they can do so. This is not a mandatory process and contract teachers can voluntarily move to permanent posts.”
For the past three years, the contract teachers were getting salary equal to that of permanent teachers but they were not getting some benefits and as per the latest decision of the state government, they will now work as regular teachers in schools.
It is noteworthy that the Assam government has recently regularized the jobs of about 25,000 teachers working in the primary schools of the state under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA).
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– / Written By Top News Bulletin
Image Credit: KhasKhabar.