Education volunteers protest apathy
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, September 15 2011:
Members of All Manipur Education Volunteers' Welfare Association today staged sit-in-protest at Keishampat Junction against alleged indifferent attitude of the Government on their service condition.
With 800 members in its fold, the Association demanded that services of the education volunteers be absorbed as primary teachers.
Speaking to newspersons on the sideline of the demonstration, Association general secretary H Basanta said for the past many years services of the Education Volunteers are being utilised in 380 centres spread across remote locations in all the nine districts.
Taking grim note that numerous meetings of the State Cabinet had failed to either acknowledge or initiate positive measures for improvement of their service conditions and status, Basanta said expectation of the members that the Cabinet in its latest sitting on September 13 might make some positive move did not materialise thereby compelling the Association to air their grievances through sit-in-protest.
Cautioning that more intense agitation would be launched in case plight of the education volunteers is not addressed by the Government, he also questioned policy of the State Government for recruitment of fresh teachers when the Association's proposal to upgrade the 380 centres remains unfulfilled.
Pointing out that the said centres were set up as per policy of the Ministry of human Resource and are covered under the SSA programme, Basanta criticised the Government of Manipur for continuously ignoring the Centre's notification with regard to upgrading these centres.
Setting a deadline of three days for the Government to honour demands of the Association, Basanta described the Government's attitude as callous and detrimental to promotion of quality education in the State.