Primary School Teachers’ Protest in Chennai Cancelled After Talks with Minister
Chennai: The planned protest by primary school teachers in Chennai has been called off after negotiations with School Education Minister Anbil Mahes Poiyamozhi. The Titojak union, representing primary school teachers, announced the cancellation of the strike after reaching an agreement in talks held in Chennai.
Initially, the Titojak Federation had declared that the protest would go ahead on October 13 at the DPI campus due to a lack of consensus during discussions with the School Education Department.
The protest, organized by the Joint Action Committee of Tamil Nadu Primary Education Teachers Movements (TITTO JACK), was set to highlight 30 demands, including the implementation of the old pension scheme and the abandonment of the numeracy and literacy program, among others.
Representatives from the teachers’ unions within the Titojak group, including Tamil Nadu Teachers’ Alliance General Secretary S. Muthusamy, Tamil Nadu Primary School Teachers’ Alliance General Secretary Mayil, Tamil Nadu Primary School Teachers’ Alliance General Secretary Das, and Tamil Nadu Primary School Teachers’ Association General Secretary John Wesley, participated in talks with Director of School Education Department K. Arivoli and Director of Elementary Education S. Kannappan at the TBI campus in Chennai.
However, the negotiations, which lasted for approximately two hours, failed to yield an agreement on all 30 demands. Education authorities agreed to fulfill nine of the demands put forward by the teachers, but the teachers insisted on a written guarantee and the Minister of School Education publishing it as a report. Failing these conditions, the teachers had warned that the protest would proceed as scheduled at the TBI campus.
Following discussions with the minister, it has been announced that the planned protest will be cancelled. This comes as a relief to the primary school teachers who had been prepared to take to the streets to voice their concerns. With the strike now called off, it is hoped that the education authorities will address the remaining demands put forward by the TITTO JACK union in the near future.