Chhattisgarh police on Sunday detained several protesting BEd teachers in Raipur. As per the city SP, these candidates were asked to protest legally but they blocked the road, causing disruptions. Hundreds of terminated educators in Chhattisgarh, including 300 women teachers, staged a demonstration at finance minister O.P. Choudhary's official residence in Raipur at 5 am on Saturday.
These teachers demanding job security from the state government as their jobs are at risk following a high court ruling in April that quashed a 2023 notification from the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) requiring primary teachers to have a B.Ed degree and holding that Diploma in Elementary Education (D.El.Ed) was the qualification needed for the position.
Know why are these teachers protesting
Chhattisgarh government issued orders for terminating the services of over 2,800 primary school teachers, after the state High Court ordered that B.Ed holders were not eligible for the position of primary teachers. Since then several teachers are staging protest against the orders. Several male B.Ed. assistant teachers tonsured their heads while female teachers also cut their hair in support of their demands.
Protestors removed on orders of SDM
City Superintendent of Police, Ajay Kumar Yadav said these protestors were removed after prolonged requests as their demonstration was disrupting the traffic. "These are BEd candidates who had been protesting against their termination. They were asked to carry out their protest legally. They had no permission to sit and protest here, despite that, they blocked the road. They were requested for about 10 hours to vacate the way since the entire city was facing troubles."
According to the SP, the protest caused significant disruption in the area on Sunday, leading to the police action after prolonged attempts to resolve the situation peacefully failed. He further added, "On the orders of the SDM, they were removed from here with the aim to clear the way."
(With inputs from ANI)