Hyderabad: Approximately 19, 650 support staff of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (established in 1998) urged the state government to absorb them into regular government rolls on a priority basis. They play a crucial role in ensuring the smooth functioning of school and Intermediate education.
In order to put pressure on the government to concede their demand, around 200 of them staged a protest, as part of their indefinite strike, in front of the EDO office here on Monday.
They lamented that although they have been working in the abhiyaan for over two decades, they are paid a maximum monthly salary of Rs 19,500. The qualified diploma holders have been absorbed as cluster resource persons, part-time instructors, inclusive education resource persons, division level monitoring team members, technical persons, data entry operators and accounts personnel.
Saritha, general secretary of the district union, said, “We are working for children with special needs, including the hearing impaired, speech impaired, low-vision or completely blind, mentally retarded, multiple disability, cerebral palsy, learning disability, orthopedically impaired, and autistic spectrum disorder”.
Syeda Farheen, working as a part-time instructor from 2012, said “I have been teaching art, craft, dance and music at the government school at Mozamjahi. We are paid Rs 11,700, half of which goes towards rent. During the Assembly election campaign, A. Revanth Reddy promised to absorb us into regular employment when Congress comes to power. However, he is yet to honour his promise.”
It is a similar tragic tale of Navaneeta Goud, who has been with the mandal information system for over 15 years. He said that like the BRS even the Congress government is not coming to their rescue.
Cluster resource person Thallapally Srivani said “in single teacher schools, when the regular teachers are absent we are posted as stopgap arrangements. We are normally associated with the school dropout and other such surveys. We take care of the midday meals. We do the same work that regular teachers do but our wages are deplorable in comparison. Hence, our demand for regular employment.”
