National teachers' body extends support to agitating primary teachers in Himachal

Shimla, May 16 (PTI) The All India Primary Teachers Federation (AIPTF) on Friday extended full support to the agitating members of the Himachal Primary Teachers Federation (HPTF), cautioning that teachers from the adjoining states would join the protest in case the state government doesn't call the protesters for talks.
    “While teachers resort to agitations to press their demands, the Himachal Pradesh government was the first to not only suspend the HPTF members protesting peacefully, but also register FIRs against them.
    “We condemn the government for its actions and fully support the demands put forth by the protesting teachers,” AIPTF working president Vinod Thakran said here.
    Thakran, who joined the primary teachers sitting on a dharna outside the directorate of education in Shimla, also cautioned that teachers from the adjoining states would join the protest if the agitators are not called for talks immediately.
    Eight primary teachers were suspended for protesting against a state government decision to form a single directorate for schools and for making “derogatory” remarks against the Congress government in Himachal Pradesh.     Two more teachers were suspended for being absent from school, a day before the teachers’ protest in Shimla on April 26.
    "I have gone through the charter of demands submitted by the HPTF. There is not a single demand, which cannot to accepted,” Thakran said.
    “Teachers from Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana and other states would join the dharna in large numbers in case the issues are not addressed,” he added.
    Expressing solidarity with the agitating teachers, the president of the Haryana Primary Teachers Union also joined the dharna in Shimla.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)