ICT teachers ended their protest outside Bikash Bhavan in Salt Lake, Kolkata, on Tuesday night after West Bengal School Education Minister Deepak Barman assured them that the government would consider their demands and work towards a solution within six months.
The decision followed two rounds of meetings between the minister and the teachers’ organisation. The protest had focused on job security, direct government contracts and the end of the agency-based employment system through which the teachers are currently engaged.
For now, the services of 3,719 ICT teachers will continue under an agency selected through the tender process. The existing agency’s contract was due to end on September 30, creating uncertainty over whether the teachers would remain in service.
According to the report, teachers appointed during the sixth and seventh phases of the ICT programme have been working through private agencies. Their demands include being brought directly under government contracts, implementation of a salary structure in line with labour laws, regular service status and job security until the age of 60.
The teachers said the minister sought approximately six months to take a concrete decision on their demands. They said they received an assurance that the government would consider steps towards direct contractual engagement and a wage arrangement based on labour legislation during this period.
The withdrawal of the protest keeps ICT services running through the existing agency arrangement while the government considers the teachers’ employment demands. The next significant step will be the government’s decision on the proposed six-month timeline and the future structure of engagement for the 3,719 teachers.
