SSA salary row deepens; Govt constitutes high-level committee

Srinagar, Jun 09: A massive rally of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) and General Line Teachers was organised in north Kashmir’s Kupwara on Saturday against the government for failing to fulfill their demands.
Under the banners of The United Forum teachers from all zones of Kupwara district marched from Boys higher Secondary School Kupwara to Deputy Commissioner’s office where they shouted slogans against the government.
The protesting teachers threatened to lock the schools from 11th of June till 13th if their demands of de-linking their salaries was not fulfilled and salaries were not regularized.
The teachers were demanding streamlining of salaries of SSA teachers and release of pending salaries. The protesting teachers said that the government is forcing them to face hardships as the dispensation has utterly failed to take up their issues and fulfill their demands.
“Despite assurances by the education Minister’s, nothing has been done for our demands,” the protesting teachers said, adding that the government must fulfill their promises and must fulfill our demands at an earliest so that thousands of families could heave a sigh of relief. “Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) has clubbed various schemes including SSA, RMSA and others and has reduced the funds, affecting the salaries of SSA teachers. We demand the government to delink our salaries so that we will get salaries on time,” the protesters said.
Meanwhile, the Minister for School Education, Hajj and Auqaf and Tribal Affairs, Choudhary Zulfkar Ali, Saturday said that the Government has constituted a high-level committee to obtain inputs from all stakeholders in order to ensure speedy resolution of SSA teachers’ issues.
The committee headed by Secretary School Education Farooq Shah would have Director Sarva Sakshi Abiyan (SSA), Director School Education Kashmir, Director School Education Jammu, Special Secretary Education, Director Planning Education Department and FA&CO of Education Department as its members.
The Minister said that the present dispensation is well aware of issues faced by SSA teachers and everything possible would be done to mitigate their hardships.
Zulfkar said that administration is tirelessly working to find an appropriate full-time solution to the issues of SSA teachers and are optimistic that soon they would be able to address them once and for all.
The Minister said that he had a detailed meeting with Union Ministry of Human Resources and Development. He said during the meeting, the issues of SSA teachers were discussed threadbare.
Zulfkar said that he was assured by the Union Minister that the issues would be looked into and whatever possible help in this regard would be extended.