SFI stages protest outside DC’s office over state govt’s guest teachers policy
The state committee of the Students’ Federation of India (SFI) on Tuesday staged a protest outside the premises of Deputy Commissioner’s office against the state government’s policy of recruiting teachers on an hourly-based in government schools, and demanded that the government roll back the decision. State secretary Dinit Denta accused the Congress-led state government of implementing anti-youth policies and pushing the state backward.
He said the guest teacher system compromised the quality of education, while denying regular employment opportunities to thousands of unemployed youth in the state.
He accused the government of hypocrisy, alleging that despite opposing the NEP at the national level, the party was implementing it in the state.
He said aspirants preparing for competitive exams with great effort and sacrifice were facing disillusionment as government recruitment processes had been stalled for the past two years. State president Anil Thakur also expressed concern over the limited industrial and IT sector opportunities in the state, which forced educated youth to rely on government jobs or migrate to other states for employment.
He called on the state government to adopt youth and student-friendly policies by conducting regular recruitments.
He said providing stable employment opportunities was crucial for addressing unemployment in the state.
The SFI warned the state government of intensifying its protest and mobilise students from across the state if it did not withdraw the policy.
Meanwhile, the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) also demanded the state government to withdraw the guest teacher policy, and conducted a signature campaign on campus of Himachal Pradesh University.
Educated unemployed youth stage protest
Educated unemployed youth held a protest here on Monday against the government’s decision to engage guest teachers. Agitated youngsters raised slogans against the government, and threatened to gherao Congress leaders if the policy was not withdrawn.
The government approved the engagement of guest teachers in a Cabinet meeting recently to fill up short-term vacancies in any institution.
These guest teachers would be paid on an hourly basis.
The protesters said the government had completed two years in office, but it had not delivered on its promise to provide employment to the youth.
“The government had promised to provide one lakh jobs in a year. However, as per its own data, only around 30,000 jobs have been given so far. And out of that, too, only around 5,000 are regular jobs, and the rest are outsourced or part time,” a protester said.
