Strike by DPS Budgam staff sparks protest by parents, govt intervenes

WAJAHAT SHABIR

SRINAGAR: The strike observed by the staff including teachers and bus drivers of Delhi Public School (DPS), Budgam has caused closure of academic session for two days and prompted parents to stage protest against the school management.
An SMS was forwarded from the management to parents for two consecutive days stating "Due to a potential strike call by some senior school teachers and bus drivers, the school will be closed tomorrow. We will meet the staff tomorrow to sort out matters. We will keep you updated.
“We pay a heavy school fees and bus charges to the school but look at the condition right now. The school managements seem to be careless about the future of student. Who will compensate the school and bus fee for the days school was closed? We do not want our kids to suffer from this issue,” a protester and parent Javeed Ahmad told The News Now.
He said that he has been receiving text messages from two days that school has been closed which has created a lot of inconvenience to the students.
“We have been compelled to observe strike as school management has failed to fulfill our long pending demand of hike in pay as par with other CBSE schools across the country. We are being underpaid as compared to other schools,” an agitating teacher said.
“We are qualified teachers and we spend more time in school than the government schools but still our salaries are less than them. And, whenever we have taken the matter with the school administration they overturned our demand”, he said.
“We have to demand our rights we not asking for extra money. We want salaries as per our work and efforts. We have shaped the future of many children but it in return we get peanuts,” he added.
“We are being paid very less comparing the workload we have. They pay us less and they charge a hefty amount when it comes to bus fee. And, it is not easy to pick and drop the students safely to the school,” a school bus driver said.
District Development Commissioner Budgam Dr Sehrish Asgar took cognizance of the matter and directed Chief Education Officer (CEO) Budgam to look into the matter.
Talking to The News Now, CEO Budgam Fatima Bano said “We reached the school and after a brief meeting at school the matter has been solved.”
“The school administration assured that the committee will be formed to address the grievances of the staff and within one month and 6 percent incentive will be given to the staff including grade pay allowance which they were demanding,” she said.
Fatima Bano said that school will run normally from Monday. “We will also make an inspection team on academics and other issues of the school and will make sure no such things happen in the future .” she said.

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