Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Apr 21: Demanding release of pending salary and Mid-Day meal grants, Jammu Kashmir Teachers Forum held a protest demonstration, here today.
The protesting teachers raised slogans in support of their demands and appealed the Chief Minister Mufti Mohd Sayeed as well as Education Minister Naeem Akhter to take personal interest in solving the issues pertaining to teaching fraternity.
While addressing the teachers, JKTF general secretary Ganesh Khajuria alleged that the Education Department has miserably failed to get the SSA, RMSA and NPS grants released because of its incompetence. “Similarly the Mid-Day meal grants have also not been released for the last several months and the concerned teachers are forced to spend from their own pocket to provide meal to the students,” he added and strongly pleaded for handing over the Mid-Day meal scheme to village Panchayats or NGOs so that the teachers may devote their energy for teaching purpose only.
Ganesh Khajuria lamented that the teachers were suffering because of wrong doing of the State Government, which diverted the funds and deprived the working class of even monthly salary.
The JKTF leader also drew attention towards the schools, which have no sweeper, waterman and class IV employees. On the one hand Government of India is giving wide publicity to Swacchh Bharat Abhiyan and teachers are being suspended for not initiating cleanliness, no arrangements are being made to provide contingency funds to meet the expenditures incurred on these services, he added.
Others, who addressed the demonstration, included Rajinder Gupta, Gopal Singh, Kuldeep Singh, Surat Singh Toofani and Darshan Sharma.
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