Contractual teachers protest

Contractual teachers during a protest in Srinagar on Saturday. -Excelsior/Shakeel
Contractual teachers during a protest in Srinagar on Saturday. -Excelsior/Shakeel

Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, Jan 28: The contractual teachers who were appointed 4 years ago and later disengaged today staged a protest, seeking re-engagement and regularization of services as per the analogy of 2006.
Scores of teachers appeared at Pratap Park, Press Enclave and were seen holding placards, urging the authorities to pay heed to come to their rescue by paying heed to their demands.
“We were appointed in 2018 as per a cabinet order, but then, we were disengaged in 2019 without any notice given to us,” said one of the teachers, Irshad Ahmad from Gurez.
He said that they have been protesting for a long time, however, he said, their demands were falling on deaf ears. “No one is listening to us; we are 1200 in total with M.Phill and PhD; we are highly qualified,” he said.
Another teacher, Nadeem Ahmad from Budgam said that as per the contract they had to work for 2 months, but this did not happen. “Instead, we worked for 2 years and then we were fired without any notice,” he said.
The teachers said that they are living in a social dilemma and that they are suffering from depression. “We are facing immense issues and it has trickled down to the existential crisis; the Government must address our issues,” they said.