Teachers Hunger Strike Enters Day 6

SRINAGAR The indefinite hunger strike announced by Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) teachers entered the sixth day on Saturday, with the health condition of several protesters worsening.

The teachers, led by Teachers Joint Action Committee (TJAC) president Abdul Qayoom Wani, have been protesting at Partap Park since September 3, demanding the implementation of the Seventh Pay Commission and delinking their salaries from the Union Ministry of Human Resource and Development funds.

Dozens of teachers were given medical aid after they fell unconscious during the hunger strike, as they continued without food more over 100 hours into the protest.

They are protesting against the government for denying them the benefits of 7th pay commission and demand their salaries be delinked from the component paid by the union ministry of human resource development.

The protestors said the teachers will continue the hunger strike until the government fulfilled their pending demands.

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They said as many as 65,000 Rehbar-e-Taleem teachers had been recruited by the government since 2000, of which 41,000 were recruited under the SSA scheme.

They added since then the salaries of the teachers had not been delinked from the Central government funds and were not being released on time.

The SSA teachers continue to take to streets for the last six months. The government had constituted a five-member committee to look into their demands. The committee is scheduled to submit its report in November.

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