Unions issue ultimatum to Chhattisgarh government; demand rollback of “flawed rationalization” and immediate resolution of long-pending demands
Published on: May 21, 2025
By: BTI
Location: Rajnandgaon, India
In a rare show of unity, 23 major teachers’ unions across Chhattisgarh have issued a stern ultimatum to the state government, threatening to launch a statewide indefinite protest on May 28, including mass gherao of the Mahanadi Bhawan Secretariat in Raipur, if the contentious teacher rationalization policy is not withdrawn within a week.
The protest call was announced following a joint delegation of all 23 union state presidents and representatives submitting a formal memorandum and ultimatum to senior government officials at the Directorate of Education and the Secretariat.
Union leaders, including Manish Mishra, Kedar Jain, Sanjay Sharma, Virendra Dubey, Vikas Rajput, and others, have slammed the current rationalization process as deeply flawed and unjust, warning that it could lead to the “largest teachers’ agitation the state has ever witnessed.”
Among their demands:
- Immediate cancellation of the ongoing rationalization (Yuktikikaran) process
- Restoration of the 2008 school staffing setup, aligned with the 2009 RTE norms (3 teachers for 60 students in primary schools; 5 teachers in middle schools)
- Implementation of time-bound promotions and pay scale arrears for over 1 lakh teachers, similar to the case of Sona Sahu
- Restoration of old pension scheme and inclusion of all years of service for retirement benefits
- Waiver of B.Ed. requirement for already trained teachers awaiting promotion
Leaders stated that tampering with the 2008 setup, without consulting teacher unions as was previously promised, is unacceptable. “In primary schools, two teachers cannot effectively teach 60 students. This policy is pushing education backward,” said Kedar Jain, one of the lead union representatives.
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They emphasized that the state government should focus on recruiting teachers to fill vacancies instead of reducing existing teaching staff under the guise of rationalization.
If no action is taken within the week, the joint platform “Sarv Shaikshik Sangathan” will mobilize teachers from all districts to gather in Raipur on May 28 for an indefinite dharna and siege of the state secretariat.
“The government’s unilateral move violates its earlier promise to consult all unions before making structural changes,” said union leaders in a joint statement, accusing the Education Department of experimenting irresponsibly with school setups and undermining trust.
They warned that any disruption to law and order as a result of the protest would be the sole responsibility of the state government.
The delegation included top functionaries such as Dharmesh Sharma, Krishna Raj Pandey, Jitendra Sharma, Sudhir Pradhan, Omprakash Sonkala, Narayan Chaudhary, and office bearers from the Chhattisgarh Teachers Welfare Association, Teachers Association, and several district-level units.
