Primary school teachers in Karnataka’s government schools have threatened to go on a protest if their demands to incorporate changes into the new recruitment rules are not met.

Under the umbrella of the Karnataka State Primary School Teachers Association, representative school teachers are all set to meet chief minister Basavaraj Bommai with their demands at Belagavi where the legislative session is underway.

 Among the primary demands, the association has asked the state government to not conduct competitive exams for teachers who have been recruited for government jobs already. Chandrashekara Nugli, the general secretary of the association questioned, “We are all qualified to teach students. We are recruited only after clearing competitive exams and Teachers Eligibility Test. No other government department has such a rule that employees write competitive exams for promotion. Why impose this condition on teachers?”

The association has also sought that the government consider all teachers from 1-7 under one category and recognize those with degrees and give them the appropriate pay scale of those teachers with degrees. They have sought that 25 % direct recruitment and 75 % on seniority must be considered for promoting teachers in classes 6-8. “The word promotion must be dropped and it should be termed as ‘those teachers with degrees’,” they sought.

The guidelines do not specify regulations for promotions of physical education teachers. Teachers have asked the government to form a separate category for them and fix adequate basic pay.

“It is completely unscientific to admit teachers into classes 1-5 as Hindi teachers because Hindi language learning starts only in class 6 – if they have opted for Hindi in degree, consider them as teachers for 6-8 and if not, allow them time to get a degree,” the association seeks. 

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