Guwahati, September 5: On the occasion of Teachers’ Day, the All Assam Non-Provincialised Teachers’ and Employees’ Association strongly condemned the state government for neglecting their long-standing demand for provincialisation of services.
Addressing a press conference at Dispur Press Club today, the organisation’s leaders narrated the decades of hardship faced by nearly 4,500 teachers and employees who continue to serve schools and colleges without provincial status. Many of them have been working since the 1990s but remain deprived of government recognition and financial security.
Association secretary Purabi Kalita Saikia termed the new provincialisation law introduced by the BJP-led government in 2017 as a “teacher-killer act.” She alleged that the provisions of the law are discriminatory and have pushed thousands of teachers, left out in both 2013 and 2021, into a state of uncertainty despite their decades of service.
“Today is Teachers’ Day, but we cannot celebrate. For us, it is a day of sorrow. The government has used us for years and abandoned us when we are nearing retirement,” Kalita said with tears in her eyes.
She further alleged that while some institutions were provincialised in 2013, many teachers were excluded. The subsequent 2017 law, instead of correcting the injustice, created fresh anomalies. Teachers from LP, ME, high schools, higher secondary schools, and even colleges, along with fourth-grade employees, were left out arbitrarily, despite having worked continuously for 25–30 years.
The association rejected the government’s excuses of falling student strength, U-DISE data discrepancies, and financial constraints, claiming these were used to justify denying teachers their due rights.
Kalita expressed cautious hope that the new amendment bill, which the Chief Minister has announced for October, would finally address the plight of the 4,500 left-out teachers and employees.
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