UTF demands immediate resolution of municipal teachers’ long-standing issues

Andhra Pradesh: MLC Illa Venkateswara Rao leads protest over delayed benefits for municipal teachers, warns of intensifying movement. The protesting teachers presented their memorandum to District Education Officer AD Suresh Kumar, urging immediate action.

Municipal teachers left behind in education system

During a protest held on Friday in front of the district DEO office of Dr. B R Ambedkar Konaseema, MLC Illa Venkateswara Rao criticized the disparity in treatment between municipal teachers and government or panchayat raj teachers. Despite being part of the same education system, municipal teachers are denied the same facilities and orders, causing long-standing frustration.

Critical shortages and merged classes

IVR highlighted that municipal high schools face a severe shortage of subject teachers, forcing the merger of classes 3, 4, and 5 without providing school assistants for these combined classes. Additionally, promotions and transfers have been irregular, leaving teachers uncertain of when they will receive them.

Unresolved PF accounts and urban MEO posts

Municipal teachers’ Provident Fund accounts remain stagnant, with no opportunity to utilize funds for their needs or deposit deducted money. IVR emphasized that repeated representations on this issue have been ignored. Moreover, unlike government and panchayat raj teachers, municipal teachers are not being appointed to Urban MEO posts.

Call for immediate action

Rao warned that if the demands of municipal teachers are not addressed promptly, the protests will escalate.

The event saw participation from various leaders, including State Secretary S Jyotibasu, State Audit Committee Member T Vijaya Krishna, District Convener P Surendra Kumar, District Municipal Sub-committee Convener Rayudu Srinivas, District Secretaries T Durga Prasad, P Murugeswara Rao, B Chandrakala, and K Srinivas, along with State Councilor KGK Reddy and Jana Vigyan Vedika In-charge J Satyanarayana. Local leadership from Ramachandrapuram, Mandapeta, and Amalapuram municipalities, along with a large number of municipal and mandal teachers, also joined the protest.