Members of Shikshak Bharati or Teachers' Union of India have launched a Shikshak Bachao Manch agitation demanding changes in school education and higher education system. The union members will stage a joint demonstration on Monday at August Kranti Maidan.
Members have demanded various measures such as providing mobile or tablets to students who are deprived of online education, restoring old pension schemes for all teaching and non-teaching employees, addressing loss of jobs of all temporary and contractual teachers during lockdown, allocating six percent of GDP for education and increasing state budget for education and health.
Under higher education, Shikshak Bharati laid out its demands in order to improve the situation of teachers. A senior member of Shikshak Bharati said, "The 7th Pay revision for part-time teachers should be implemented. Regular disbursal of salaries in self-financing institutions should be followed as per Supreme Court (SC) order."
For school education, the member said, "Vacant posts of teachers should be filled as there are many teachers who are qualified but unemployed. Unaided schools and junior colleges should be brought under 100 % grant-in aid. Also, the backlog of thousands of vacancies under Right to Education (RTE) admission should be filled as many students are denied admission or not informed about the benefits of RTE."
