Madrassa teachers in Agartala demand salary hike

Agartala (Tripura), Aug.6 (ANI): Hundreds of contractual Madrass teachers staged a protest on Friday in Agartala demanding inclusion of 129 madrassas under the grant-in-aid category and a hike in their salaries. The protest procession was organized under the banner of the Tripura Madrassa Teachers' Association from the Abul Kalam Pantha Nibas to the Rabindra Centenary Hall. "Our main demand was to include 129 Madrassas in grant-in-aid category along with the teachers engaged in those. Till these not included in grant-in-aid category the teachers may get salary as per the contractual teachers of Sarba Siksha Abhijan (SSA under total literacy programme). On 31-09-2012 the advisory board had decided make 127 teachers regular but till date that did not happen. We also demanded for a State Madrassa Board and all total with six demands we are organizing this agitational procession in Agartala," said Saha Alam, one of the protesting teachers. Alam informed that in 2009, the Scheme to Provide Quality Education in Madrasas (SPQEM) was launched by the centre to bring about qualitative improvement in madrasas to enable Muslim children attain standards of formal education in key subjects. "We want to send the message through the state government to the centre that if it is not possible to appoint us as regular teachers, then at least our salaries should be raised to be able to overcome price inflation of essential items. We are aware that today the minimum salary of a central employee is Rs 18,000. So, we are demanding through the state government that the central government should hike our salaries," said Alam. At present, two types of Madrassa functioning in Tripura under state grant-in-aids madrasas and the second type are centrally sponsored under the SPQEM. Salaries and allowances of teachers of grant-in-aids madrasas are being paid as same as the teacher's of the state government but the SPQEM Madrassa teachers get fixed honorarium at the rates of Rs.l2,000 per month those post graduate or B.ED trained and the graduate teachers get Rs 6,000 per month. (ANI)