Birgunj:Nepal Per Capita Funding Teachers Struggle Committee today announced protest programmes in two phases from January 6 to 21 putting forth five-point demand to the government.

Organising a press conference in Birgunj, Committee Central Chairperson Arun Kumar Singh said they will be organising protest programmes in phases to ensure equal rights to all PCF teachers.

Struggle Committee’s demands include PCF teachers be paid the same salary as the regular teachers, to be freed from domination, to dissolve age bar for the PCF teachers in the Teachers Service Commission, to give them ‘per teachers donations ration’ as declared in PCF Directorate 2011-12.

As part of their protest, the teachers have pledged to stay away from schools from January 6 and 7, and conduct classes tying a black band around their arms from January 8 to 10 in the first phase of protest. In the second phase sit-ins would be organised in front of District Education Office on January 16 and 17 and shut District Education Office’s official work on January 20 and 21.

Struggle Committee Chairperson Singh warned that if their demands are not addressed by the end of the second phase of protest, they would launch an indefinite hunger strike from January 30.

The committee slammed the Education Ministry of neglecting their demands even after the Supreme Court’s order to declare appropriate salaries to all taking care of the inflation-hit market.

source: The Himalayan Times,30 Dec 2012