Agartala, June 8:
Contractual computer teachers from across Tripura on Monday assembled in Agartala’s Circuit House area and formed a human chain near the Mahatma Gandhi statue on VIP Road, demanding regularisation of their services and resolution of pending service-related issues.
The programme was organised by the All Tripura School Computer Teachers’ Sangh, with participants from different districts joining the protest to press for the regularisation of 355 computer teachers who were recruited on a contractual basis and have completed more than five years of service.
Addressing the gathering, association general secretary Tapan Kumar De said the teachers had not received any clear response from the government regarding their long-pending demand for regularisation.
Through the demonstration and media outreach, the association sought to draw the attention of Chief Minister Manik Saha and urged the state government to take an early decision on the issue.
De said neighbouring Assam and some other states had already regularised similarly placed contractual computer teachers, and Tripura should adopt a similar approach.
He contended that employees engaged through various contractual arrangements in different sectors are often renewed or regularised, and therefore computer teachers who have served for years should also be provided job security.
Besides regularisation, the protesters demanded expeditious settlement of service-related benefits, including issues related to Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF). They also called for Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and computer education to be made a compulsory subject in schools, arguing that digital literacy has become an essential component of modern education.
According to the association, a comprehensive system of compulsory computer education has not been fully implemented in the state since 2021. The teachers maintained that strengthening ICT education would benefit students while also ensuring better utilisation of trained computer instructors.
The protesters announced that following the human chain programme they would march towards Rabindra Bhavan and submit a memorandum to the Chief Minister outlining their demands.
Warning of a stronger agitation if their demands remain unaddressed, the association said it would intensify its movement in the coming days to secure regularisation and other service benefits for contractual computer teachers in the state.
