The state government may grant its employees a Diwali gift in the form of a DA and bonus. According to senior officials in the administration, the relevant file is being prepared. About 800,000 employees will benefit from the bonus, while 1.5 million state employees and teachers will come under the scope of the DA hike. The DA will be increased from 50% to 54%, with the benefits calculated from July. The bonus is calculated based on the basic pay and DA. Last year, state employees received approximately ₹7,000 as a bonus. There is a provision for bonuses for non-gazetted officers as well.
A positive decision will be made regarding ad-hoc teachers and education friends.
Under the direction of the Chairman of the Legislative Council, a meeting was held on Saturday with the Leader of the House and Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Maurya to address the issues faced by teachers in the basic, secondary, and higher education departments. The meeting reached an agreement to take positive decisions regarding the salaries and appointments of ad-hoc teachers and the honorarium of education friends.
During the meeting, teacher MLA Raj Bahadur Singh Chandel and graduate MLA Devendra Pratap Singh requested the withdrawal of the November 9, 2023, order concerning ad-hoc teachers in unaided secondary schools (aided colleges). They noted that since then, court rulings have been issued regarding salary payments, but the department has not issued any orders. The Deputy Chief Minister asked how many people this affects, to which the teacher MLA responded that approximately 1,200 individuals remain. This will not impose an additional financial burden on the government. They agreed to make a decision within a month.
The meeting also addressed the issue of teachers regulated under the March 22, 2016, order who are not receiving pensions. The teacher MLA mentioned that there were requests to include ad-hoc and qualifying services, but this has not been done. The Deputy Chief Minister inquired about the reasons for this, and they also agreed to reach a decision within a month.
Teacher leaders raised the issue of vigilance checks for 40,000 teachers and staff from 1981 to 2020. It was suggested that those with complaints should be called in for questioning, and unnecessary harassment of all teachers and staff should be avoided. They also requested that the Director of Education (Secondary) issue a letter regarding this matter.
The MLC mentioned that there are no established regulations for service security, disciplinary procedures, suspension, or approval in the State Education Service Selection Commission. In response, the Additional Chief Secretary stated that regulations are being created, and they agreed to incorporate Sections 12, 18, and 21 of the Selection Board Regulations 1998 into these new regulations.
