Andhra Pradesh: Teachers to announce stir plan on April 3 at Tirupati

Federation regrouping rmployees’ associations to fight for their rights

Leaders of the United Teachers’ Federation on Monday urged the State government to fulfill the promise made by Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy during the recent Pay Revision Commission agitation to announce a ‘road map’ for moving way from the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS), and declared that they would announce an agitation plan on April 3 at public meeting to be organised in Tirupati.

Federation general secretary K.S.S. Prasad and president N. Venkateswarlu, at a press conference here on Monday on the concluding day of the federation’s three-day 16th conference, said the teachers’ federation was regrouping all the employees’ association to fight for the rights of the government employees, which includes 27% fitment, old House Rent Allowance rates and monetary benefit from July 1, 2018 and not from April 1, 2020 that was given by the State government.

The Chief Minister had initially promised a solution to the CPS by June 30, but advanced it to March 31 during the agitation to placate the employees, said Mr. Prasad and demanded a government order on stopping of proposed recovery of ₹5,500 crore from the employees, though it had been verbally told. “We are demanding publishing of Aushutosh Mishra Report on Pay Revision and seeking out constitutional right and no new additional demand,” he said.

Federation leader K. Babu demanded restoration of all the primary schools and not merging them with high schools as it would deal a big blow to the education with government trying to have schools three km. apart. “This could lead to several dropouts in the primary sections with not many willing to travel that far,” he opined.

If the primary education system was not retained from Classes 1 to 5 in existing schools, 18,000 of them would close down by June, the federation leaders claimed. If the implementation of the New Education Sytem continues and schools are closed, the federation would embark on an agitation along with parents’ committees at panchayat level on April 13, at mandal level on April 15, and later at the district level, they announced.