Roshan Giri's Effigy burnt in Darjeeling

3:05 PM

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Roshan Giri

DARJEELING 24 Aug 2016 More than 200 voluntary teachers of primary schools in the hills today burned the effigy of Gorkhaland Territorial Administration Sabhasad Roshan Giri in Darjeeling town and submitted a mass resignation from the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, the party they were linked to.

Five hundred and nineteen teachers are presently serving voluntarily in 129 junior, high and higher secondary schools in the hills over the last 10-15 years. Now, these teachers, under the aegis of the Janmukti Insecure Secondary Teachers' Organisation (JISTO), want to be regularised. On July 8, the GJM disbanded the JISTO’s ‘movement committee’, a sub-unit that was spearheading the  regularisation demand after it went vocal about the party leadership’s inability to solve the issue.

The JISTO had issued an ultimatum to the GJM and the GTA to find a permanent solution failing which the unit had threatened to leave the party. “He (Giri) should quit as a Sabhasad on moral grounds, as he has failed to help us. Of what use is the GTA if it cannot even solve small issues like ours?” said Amit Gurung, spokesperson for the voluntary teachers.

Giri is the GTA Sabhasad in-charge of the education department and is also the GJM general secretary. A rally was organised by the voluntary teachers after which Giri’s effigy was burnt in Chowk Bazar  in protest.

The GJM general secretary though, was unfazed and said it was up to the voluntary teachers to do what they wanted. “If they (JISTO) want to burn my effigy, then who am I to stop them? If burning my effigy will fulfill them their demand, they are most welcome to do so,” retorted Giri when asked to comment.

On June 5, the GTA Sabhasad had met state education minister Partha Chatterjee in Kolkata and got an assurance that the process to regularise the voluntary teachers would be started as soon as the  state’s chief secretary gave direction to that effect. However, before that, on May 20, the joint secretary of the state school education department wrote to the home and hill affairs department saying  regularisation, absorption and appointment of voluntary teachers in the GTA could not be entertained until they secure their candidature through the West Bengal School Service Commission (SSC). But the SSC  has remained non-functional since 2003 in the hills.

Meanwhile, seven members of the Gorkha Janmukti Vidhyatrhi Morcha (GJVM) started an indefinite relay hunger strike today in Darjeeling in support of the demand for a separate state. The youth front has said this is to send a message to the central government. “We have nothing to do with the state government as the matter of giving a separate state lies with the Centre. Modiji has already said that the dreams of the Gorkhas were his too. So we want the central government to fulfill our demand,” said Satyam Lama, the GJVM president.

(EOIC)

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62 teachers resigned from Janmukti Insecure Secondary Teachers' Organisation (JISTO)

10:20 AM

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JISTO

Writes Vivek Chhetri

62 teachers resigned from Janmukti Insecure Secondary Teachers' Organisation (JISTO) and formed an apolitical front called the Hill Secondary Temporary Teachers' Organisation (HSTTO).

Darjeeling, July 17: Sixty-two voluntary teachers resigned from the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha-affiliated Janmukti Insecure Secondary Teachers' Organisation today and formed an apolitical organisation, in a move that is being seen as a blow to the hill party.

The newly-formed Hill Secondary Temporary Teachers' Organisation, which mostly has members from Kalimpong, has said it would welcome the support of any political outfit that will fight for its cause.

"Sixty-two members tendered their resignations from the JISTO today and the letter has been sent to Morcha president Bimal Gurung. Earlier, 15 JISTO members had quit," Roshan Chhetri, the chief-co-ordinator of the new outfit, said.

Members celebrate the formation of the new teachers' organisation in
 Kalimpong on Sunday. (Chinlop Fudong Lepcha)

"We have formed an apolitical front called the Hill Secondary Temporary Teachers' Organisation (HSTTO). A 10-member working committee has also been formed, including representatives from Jhaldhaka, Mungpoo, Gorubathan, Rungli-Rungliot, Rambi, Bagracote, Lava, Barbote and Kalimpong. This week, we will go to Kurseong and Darjeeling where more members of the JISTO will join us," he said.

"There are around 170 voluntary teachers from Kalimpong subdivision and 80 of them have joined us (including the 15 who had quit JISTO earlier). We will remain apolitical but welcome the support of any party. Even if Morcha takes up our cause, we will welcome the move," Chhetri said.

Around 500 voluntary teachers in the hills have been demanding job regularisation for almost a year and on November 19, 2015, Morcha formed the JISTO Movement Committee to spearhead the agitation. But on July 8, this year, the committee, which had recently been critical of the Morcha general secretary and GTA executive Sabha member in charge of education, Roshan Giri, for the hill body's failure to solve their problem, was dissolved. The JISTO, however, continued to operate.

Asked about the development, Giri said: "I do not want to make any comment."

Chhetri said, in 2012, the GTA and the state had appointed 269 teachers. "We were appointed as voluntary teachers by the school managing committees before 2014. The NCTE rules came into force only after 2014. We believe that the NCTE guidelines should not be applicable to us," he said.

An observer said this is the first time in the recent past that so many members of a Morcha front have quit to form a new outfit."This could be worrisome for the party," he said.

Via Telegraph

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JISTO critical of Roshan Giri's handling of regularisation issue

12:24 AM

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Roshan Giri

Darjeeling, July 8: The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha today dissolved the JISTO Movement Committee that was spearheading an agitation for regularisation of over 500 voluntary teachers in hill schools and was critical of Roshan Giri's handling of the issue.

The movement committee had criticised GTA executive sabha member in charge of education Giri for quite sometime for his alleged failure to solve the issue. The committee had set a deadline of 20 days to fulfil the demand that ended today.

Binay Tamang, the assistant general secretary of the Morcha, today said the party's central committee was dissolving the JISTO Movement Committee. "Bimal Gurung has decided to dissolve the JISTO Movement Committee, which had been formed from our frontal organisation, JISTO, to spearhead their movement. The frontal organisation, JISTO, however, will not be dissolved," Tamang said. The claim has been contested by the committee.

Asked about the reason for dissolving the committee, Tamang said: "It is being dissolved for various reasons," but gave none of the reasons.

A demonstration by the JISTO Movement Committee.

The Janmukti Insecure Secondary Teachers' Organisation (JISTO), a frontal organisation of the Morcha, has been demanding that more than 500 voluntary teachers in six junior high schools (till Class VIII), 52 high schools (up to Class X) and 71 higher secondary schools in the hills be made permanent. The School Service Commission (hills), which essentially is to cover the present GTA area, has been defunct since 2003 and that is why the schools had to appoint the voluntary tea-chers.

A demonstration by the JISTO Movement Committee. File picture
Amit Gurung, the co-ordinator of the JISTO Movement Committee, denied Tamang's claim that the JISTO and the committee were different entities. "It is the same entity. The JISTO central committee was dissolved by Bimal Gurung and the JISTO Movement Committee was formed in the Morcha's Patlabas office on November 19, 2015."

"It is because we expressed our displeasure over Roshan Giri's inability to solve the problem that the committee is being dissolved. It only proves that the Morcha is running away from the problem rather than solving it. Efforts are being made to break our unity but all teachers are together and we will continue our agitation," he added.

Asked about the next step, Amit said: "Since they dissolved the committee only today, time will tell what move we will take."

On July 5, Giri had met state education minister Partha Chatterjee and demanded that an ad hoc selection board be formed to make 519 voluntary teachers permanent.

Amit today said Giri was not aware of the number of the voluntary teachers. "At times, he talks about 500-odd teachers. At other times, he states there are 519 teachers. But from the GTA secretariat, we have found out that there are 570 voluntary teachers," he said.

After the Calcutta meeting on July 5, Chatterjee had said there were several part-time (voluntary) teachers who did not fulfil the eligibility criteria recommended by the National Council for Teacher Education, the apex body that regulates teachers' education in the country. He said the government would consider absorbing the teachers with required qualifications.


Telegraph

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Roshan Giri's peal to state education minister Partha Chatterjee

1:25 PM

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West Bengal

DARJEELING 5 July 2016 Gorkhaland Territorial Administration sabhasad Roshan Giri today said the state government has given a positive response to the demand for regularising teachers serving on voluntary basis in various high schools and higher secondary schools in the hills.

Today, Giri and the three MLAs from the hills called on state education minister Partha Chatterjee in Kolkata and served a memorandum of demand following which they got the assurance. Speaking from Kolkata, Giri said, “We met the state education minister today and submitted a memorandum of our demands regarding regularising the voluntary teachers. The minister gave us a patient hearing and positive assurance.”

At present, 519 teachers are serving voluntarily in 129 junior, high and higher secondary schools in the hills. However, these teachers now want to be regularised and have started various forms of agitation under the aegis of the Janmukti Insecure Secondary Teachers’ Organisation (JISTO) to pressurise the state government.

Roshan Giri accompanied by hill MLAs Amar Singh Rai, Sarita Rai and Rohit Sharma
met state education minister Partha Chatterjee

Besides regularisation, the GTA also wants the state government to form an ad-hoc selection board, giving permanent status to the headmasters of various schools currently holding temporary posts and a raise in salary of the voluntary teachers.

“There are schools in the hills that have headmasters who have been given temporary charge. We want permanent status for them for the smooth functioning of the schools. We also raised the issue of enhancement of salary of the voluntary teachers as assured by the state government in 2014,” Giri said.

According to the GTA sabhasad, the education minister assured the delegation that the process to regularise the voluntary teachers would start on receiving the green signal from the state chief secretary. “We have been assured that the minister would start the process to absorb the voluntary teachers, form an ad-hoc selection board and enhance salary once the state chief secretary gives the directions,” said Giri.

When asked for his comment on the development, JISTO coordinator Amit Gurung said, “We have not received any information yet about the meeting between the GTA and the state education minister. We will first wait for the details of the proposed ad-hoc selection board to see if it benefits us and comment only then.”

A discrepancy to be noted here is that on May 20 last month, the joint secretary of the state school education department had written to the home and hill affairs department stating that regularisation, absorption and appointment of voluntary teachers in the GTA could not be entertained until they secure their candidature through the West Bengal School Service Commission, which ironically, has remained defunct in the hills since 2003.

Telegraph - The GTA Sabha member in charge of education, Roshan Giri, met state education minister Partha Chatterjee today and demanded that an ad hoc selection board be formed to make the 500-odd voluntary teachers in the hills permanent.

Giri, who was accompanied by hill MLAs Amar Singh Rai, Sarita Rai and Rohit Sharma, said: "We have demanded that an ad hoc selection board be formed to absorb the 519 voluntary teachers in the hills. Since 2003, the SSC (School Service Commission) has been lying defunct and that is why the managing committees of the schools have had to recruit voluntary teachers. After having served for so long, it is justified that their (the teachers') services are regularised."

Chatterjee, however, said there would be no separate system for recruiting hill teachers. "The system followed in the plains will have to be followed in the hills as well," he said after meeting Giri at Bikash Bhavan in Calcutta.

Via   EOI and Telegraph

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Roshan Giri writes to state education minister to regularise the voluntary teachers

2:21 PM

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West Bengal

DARJEELING 29 Jun 2016 GTA Sabhasad and education department executive Roshan Giri has written to state education minister Partha Chatterjee reminding him about his assurance to regularise the voluntary teachers engaged on temporary basis since several years in various schools of the hills.

Around 515 voluntary teachers under the aegis of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha-affiliated Janmukti Insecure Secondary Teachers' Organisation (JISTO) who are demanding permanent status have even  threatened to quit the organisation if the party leadership failed to find a solution to their case. The Sabhasad has brought to the notice of the minister the assurance given by him during a meeting in Kolkata in December 2015 to regularise all voluntary teachers. “A GTA and JISTO delegation had met minister Chatterjee in Kolkata last year. Chatterjee had then assured them to form an ad-hoc board to appoint the 515 voluntary teachers based on their eligibility and register of appointment. At that time the minister had also said the appointment would be confined only to the 515 voluntary teachers,” Giri said.

Roshan Giri 

On the contrary, on May 20 of this year, the joint secretary of the state school education department wrote to the home and hill affairs department informing him that regularisation, absorption and appointment of voluntary teachers in the GTA could not be entertained until they secure their candidature through the West Bengal School Service Commission. “We want the voluntary teachers to be regularised but it is the state government that is creating obstacles. There is lot of resentment among the voluntary teachers who have given their prime time. The growing frustration can lead to bigger problems in the future and anything can happen,” warned Giri.

There are presently 515 teachers in more than 129 junior, high and higher secondary schools in the GTA area working on voluntary basis. However, these teachers have not been able to appear or  take their SSC examination as it has become defunct since 2003 during the tenure of the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council.

Giri, who is also the GJM general secretary, said that Basudeb Banerjee, the then state home secretary, said in a meeting in 2014 that a decision had been taken to enhance the salary of the voluntary teachers but this is yet to be implemented. He said the party has also written to state panchayat and rural development minister Subrata Mukherjee, requesting him to fill vacant posts in the Sishu Siksha  Kendra (SSK) and Madhyamik Siksha Kendra (MSK). “In the 539 SSKs in the hills there are 1,060 vacancies, while in 67 MSKs 63 posts are available. But nothing has been done to fill the posts.

We have also requested the minister to establish a separate accounts section of the SSK and MSK in the hills,” Giri said.

(EOIC)

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State asks Voluntary teachers GTA to pass the School Service Commission for regularization

9:50 AM

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West Bengal

Writes Vivek Chhetri

Darjeeling, June 19: The state's education department has informed that regularisation of voluntary teachers in the GTA area cannot be entertained unless they pass the School Service Commission (SSC) examination.

There are more than 500 voluntary teachers at 120-odd secondary schools in the Darjeeling hills. The SSC (hills), which essentially is to cover the present GTA area, has been defunct since 2003 and that is why schools had to appoint voluntary teachers.

The Janmukti Insecure Secondary Teachers' Organisation (JISTO), which is affiliated to the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, has been demanding the regularization of the voluntary teachers' jobs.

A letter dated May 20, 2016, and bearing memo number: 669-SE(S)/4A-18/15 (Pt -1) written by "joint secretary" of the school education department (secondary branch) on the issue of "regularization of volunteer teachers under GTA" clearly states that "on the subject stated above the undersigned is directed to say that regularization /absorption/ appointment of volunteer teachers in GTA cannot be entertained until they secure their candidature through the West Bengal School Service Commission".

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee with Gorkha Janmukti Morcha
general secretary Roshan Giri  - a file photo

The letter has been sent to the commissioner, home and hill affairs department.

The school education department, quoting a Supreme Court order, said no appointment could be regularised without a proper selection process.

The education department has asked the home and hill affairs department to advise them on the matter.

The letter was today shown to the media by Roshan Giri, executive GTA Sabha member in charge of education.

"In the hills, the SSC has been defunct since 2003, long before the GTA came into existence, and we demand that the state government come up with a one-time solution," said Giri.

Amit Gurung, co-ordinator, JISTO, blamed the GTA for failing to solve the impasse and its members have threatened to dissolve the body if there is no fruitful outcome within 20 days.

"The GTA has the power to recruit Group B, C and D employees. If the state government is not allowing it to exercise its functions, what is stopping it from approaching court?" Gurung asked today.

"If there is no fruitful outcome on our demand within 20 days, we will dissolve JISTO, close schools and start a Calcutta chalo abhiyan," said Gurung.


Telegraph

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JISTO continues fight for volunteer teachers

10:21 AM

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JISTO

Writes Swareena Gurung

DARJEELING 8 Jun 2016 The Janmukti Insecure Secondary Teachers’ Organisation (JISTO) today held a press conference to draw attention on the deprivation of rights volunteer teachers in government schools are facing.

Formed in 2009, the JISTO comprises volunteer teachers from secondary and higher secondary schools. There are 129 secondary and higher secondary schools in Darjeeling district and according to figures from 2013, almost 528 vacancies for permanent teaching positions were available then. This number has only increased since, and the JISTO has been agitating for permanent positions for the last nine years but to no avail. Some volunteer workers have devoted almost 18 years of service, and still have not been granted permanent status.

Janmukti Insecure Secondary Teachers’ Organisation (JISTO) -  file photo

In two memorandums submitted to the Headmaster Association of Darjeeling and to the Darjeeling MLA, Amar Rai, JISTO coordinator Amrit Gurung said, “We have devoted our valuable time and efforts to the education sector and our services can be each year when new batches of students pass out. Many of us have moved beyond our youthful years, but we are still being forced to agitate for our rights. What sort of a situation is this??

“The educated people of the hills are receiving a wrong message upon witnessing the helpless condition of the voluntary teachers. Due to non-receipt of adequate provisions from the state government and the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration, the teachers are not making any progress. We cannot overlook the fact that if things are not mended in time, the students of the hills will face a bleak future.”

The GJM’s poll manifesto ahead of the Vidhan Sabha elections included a clause to make JISTO members permanent. The organisation seeks support from the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha and hopes their prolonged agitation reaches a favourable conclusion soon.


Source EOI

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