About 160 suspended Sarv Siksha Abhiyaan volunteers from government schools of Rupnagar district staged a protest outside the house of Anandpur MP Prem Singh Chandumajra in SAS Nagar on Thursday.
The teachers, who were suspended in 2009, claim they were assured by both Chandumajra and education minister Daljit Singh Cheema that they would be reinstated after the Lok Sabha elections in 2014. But in vain.
The protesters said they were suspended in 2009 without being given any valid justification and since then they had been running from pillar to post trying to get reinstated. Consequently, the suspended teachers formed a union and reached the minister's house in Phase 1 around afternoon and raised slogans against him, they added.
The protesters said they had met the minister before Lok Sabha elections, and a meeting with Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal had been arranged. "The CM had assured us that all of us will be reinstated following the Lok Sabha elections. He then told us that we should support them in winning the elections and later they will take up our demand," said one of the protesting volunteer.
But since then, they had only been made to shuttle from one person to another, without any resolution of their demands. They threatened that if the issue was not resolved at the earliest, they would initiate an agitation. Later, Chandumajra met the protesters and assured them of required action.
{{/usCountry}}But since then, they had only been made to shuttle from one person to another, without any resolution of their demands. They threatened that if the issue was not resolved at the earliest, they would initiate an agitation. Later, Chandumajra met the protesters and assured them of required action.
{{/usCountry}}"All volunteers under Sarv Sikha Abhiyan were given regular jobs. Only those from Rupnagar district were left out, since there were no posts at that time. I have now arranged a meeting of the teachers with the education secretary and the matter will be resolved soon," Chandumajra said.