Ranchi: Around 600 non-teaching contractual staff of affiliated intermediate colleges demonstrated in front of the Raj Bhavan on Saturday. The protesters have been opposing the state’s move to delink intermediate education from degree colleges for the past 82 days.The School Education and Literacy Department, in a directive issued last month, ordered the discontinuation of intermediate education in constituent colleges. Under the new guideline, Class XII students will be transferred to nearby government +2 high schools and affiliated institutions. Alleging that the decision would lead to phasing out their roles and render hundreds jobless, a protester Saurabh Mishra said, “We have been here for 82 days. Noofficial came to meet us. It feels like we are invisible to the people in power.” Earlier, the staff had taken to symbolic forms of dissent by polishing shoes and begging to draw public and administrative attention. Another demonstrator, Aanand Yadav, said, “In ancient times, yagya was performed to fulfill divine wishes. Today, we performed the havan hoping that it will melt the hearts of those in the Raj Bhavan and the chief minister’s office.”The employees laid out three primary demands — permanent appointment of non-teaching contract staff, regular and timely salary disbursement, and the formulation of well-defined service conditions.Meera Ram another protestor, said, “We’re not asking for anything more than our rights. We help run institutions smoothly. Yet we are treated as disposable. If the govt continues to ignore us, we will be forced to escalate our agitation.”
