The Crossbill News Desk
With frustration mounting over prolonged contractual employment, thousands of staff working under the Samagra Shiksha scheme in Maharashtra have announced plans to launch an indefinite hunger strike at Azad Maidan in Mumbai from March 9.
The move comes after what employees describe as repeated delays by the state government in resolving their demand for regularisation, The Indian Express reported.
In a letter addressed to School Education and Sports Minister Dada Bhuse, the Samagra Shiksha Sangharsh Samiti has set March 7 as the deadline for the government to issue a government resolution (GR) regularising the remaining 3,378 employees.
The letter follows a protest staged in Nagpur during the Winter Session of the Legislative Assembly, where staff from 13 cadres — including resource persons, data operators and engineers — raised their concerns over what they termed discriminatory treatment.
Samagra Shiksha, a centrally sponsored scheme, integrates school education from pre-school to Class 12 and subsumes three earlier programmes: Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) for elementary education, Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) for secondary education, and Teacher Education (TE) aimed at strengthening SCERT and DIET institutions.
In October 2024, the Maharashtra government regularised 3,000 employees working with children with disabilities, but 3,378 others were excluded from the decision, according to Yogita Balakshe, state president of the Samiti
“We have been working for 25 years. We are the ones who implement the Right to Education (RTE) Act on the ground,” Balakshe told the newspaper.
“If you can regularise 50 per cent of the staff, why this injustice toward the rest of us? Many of us are nearing retirement; if we retire now, we get zero benefits and are forced to work in professions like security guards to survive,” he added.
The dispute over regularisation traces back to a financial manual issued in 2004 by the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development, which discouraged the creation of permanent posts and instead promoted contractual or deputation-based appointments. For over two decades, the state has continued employing staff on contract, reportedly mandating a one-day service break every six months.
A study committee was constituted in October 2024 to examine the issue of regularising all remaining employees. Subsequently, a fresh GR dated March 4, 2025, reconstituted the committee and directed it to submit a final report within three months.
Balakshe said, “Even though the report of the committee has now been submitted, no GR has been released yet. We will not leave Azad Maidan before a GR in our favour is released, because this is our third protest in a year.”
In their letter, the Samiti also noted that earlier agitations had been called off after assurances from government representatives that a resolution was imminent. With no concrete action so far, employees say the planned hunger strike will continue until a favourable GR is issued.
The move comes after what employees describe as repeated delays by the state government in resolving their demand for regularisation, The Indian Express reported.
In a letter addressed to School Education and Sports Minister Dada Bhuse, the Samagra Shiksha Sangharsh Samiti has set March 7 as the deadline for the government to issue a government resolution (GR) regularising the remaining 3,378 employees.
The letter follows a protest staged in Nagpur during the Winter Session of the Legislative Assembly, where staff from 13 cadres — including resource persons, data operators and engineers — raised their concerns over what they termed discriminatory treatment.
Samagra Shiksha, a centrally sponsored scheme, integrates school education from pre-school to Class 12 and subsumes three earlier programmes: Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) for elementary education, Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) for secondary education, and Teacher Education (TE) aimed at strengthening SCERT and DIET institutions.
In October 2024, the Maharashtra government regularised 3,000 employees working with children with disabilities, but 3,378 others were excluded from the decision, according to Yogita Balakshe, state president of the Samiti
“We have been working for 25 years. We are the ones who implement the Right to Education (RTE) Act on the ground,” Balakshe told the newspaper.
“If you can regularise 50 per cent of the staff, why this injustice toward the rest of us? Many of us are nearing retirement; if we retire now, we get zero benefits and are forced to work in professions like security guards to survive,” he added.
The dispute over regularisation traces back to a financial manual issued in 2004 by the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development, which discouraged the creation of permanent posts and instead promoted contractual or deputation-based appointments. For over two decades, the state has continued employing staff on contract, reportedly mandating a one-day service break every six months.
A study committee was constituted in October 2024 to examine the issue of regularising all remaining employees. Subsequently, a fresh GR dated March 4, 2025, reconstituted the committee and directed it to submit a final report within three months.
Balakshe said, “Even though the report of the committee has now been submitted, no GR has been released yet. We will not leave Azad Maidan before a GR in our favour is released, because this is our third protest in a year.”
In their letter, the Samiti also noted that earlier agitations had been called off after assurances from government representatives that a resolution was imminent. With no concrete action so far, employees say the planned hunger strike will continue until a favourable GR is issued.
Comments (0)
Leave a Comment