Odisha government reaches agreement with protesting teachers

Odisha government Thursday decided to restructure the cadre of primary school teachers and headmasters following which the agitating teachers called off their protest.

According to a statement released by the Chief Minister's Office, the primary school teachers will get at least three promotions during their service period.

The move will benefit around 72,563 primary teachers across the state, it said. School and Mass Education secretary Pradipta Mohapatra said, "The proposal for cadre restructuring of primary teachers was pending since long. Today, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik accepted the demand."

"The government has fulfilled our longstanding demands, including restructuring of cadres, grade pay hike to Rs 2,800 and promotion. Now, we have decided to withdraw our ongoing strike," said Odisha Primary Teachers Association president Rajesh Mohanty.

He said the chief minister has accepted the demands of the teachers. After cadre restructuring, the teachers will be promoted in three categories like Level-2, Level-4 and Level-5, Mohapatra said.

Mohanty said the state government also indirectly approved a hike in Grade Pay to Rs 2800 from Rs 2200.

(With inputs from agencies.)