Kolkata, 23 February (H.S.) : Around 200 members of a joint platform of para-teachers in West Bengal staged a demonstration outside Bikash Bhavan, the state education department headquarters in Salt Lake, on Monday, pressing for a substantial hike in their monthly remuneration.

The protesting teachers, affiliated to the ‘Sangrami Joutha Mancha’, were seen jostling briefly with police personnel deployed at the site before sitting on the road and demanding a meeting with state Education Minister Bratya Basu.

Representing the agitating teachers, Senjuti Sanyal said para-teachers are currently paid between Rs 9,000 and Rs 10,000 per month, which she described as inadequate. “We demand that the remuneration be raised to Rs 15,000–20,000. The Rs 1,000 increase announced in the state’s vote-on-account budget is paltry and does not address our long-standing concerns,” she said.

The forum also sought extension of provident fund and gratuity benefits, as well as exemption from election duties, on par with state government teachers and other employees.

According to the platform, there are over 50,000 para-teachers working across more than 67,000 primary and upper primary schools in the state.

Last week, members of the same platform had staged a similar protest outside Bikash Bhavan, demonstrating for several hours to press for their demands.

Hindusthan Samachar / Satya Prakash Singh