Upset over the Assam Education Minister Siddhartha Bhattacharya's statement in which he compared Assam's TET (Teachers Eligibility Test) qualified teachers with 'driver' and in support of their various demands, Assam TET teachers on Tuesday staged protests in every district headquarters of the state.
The education minister in a recent radio interview had said that like the drivers renew their license time-to-time to keep the validity going, the teachers will also have to do something similar with their TET certificates in order to continue teaching.
Irked by this statement, the TET teachers across Assam have said that TET certificates can never be compared with a driver's license.
"The TET certificate is valid for seven years and only those teachers need to reappear for the eligibility examination if one doesn't work after geeting the certificate. However, we have been working since 2012 and in such a scenario, we do not need to sit for re-examination. The government should regularise our jobs with full pay protection and the education minister should take back his driver statement," said the agitating teachers in front of the media.
Placards with slogans like 'Thank you Siddhartha Bhattacharya for comparing us with driver', 'I am a teacher and not a driver' etc. were also flashed by the agitating teachers in various places.
Later on the day, the agitating teachers will also submitted a memorandum addressed to the CM and PM to the Deputy Commissioners of their respective districts having a charter of demands.
