Census: teachers undergoing training seek better deal

Teachers drawn for the decadal census work staging a demonstration outside the training centre in the Nutan Vidyalaya Degree College complex in Gulbarga City on Tuesday protesting against the non payment of remuneration and Travelling and Dearness Allowance. Teachers drawn for the decadal census work staging a demonstration outside the training centre in the Nutan Vidyalaya Degree College complex in Gulbarga City on Tuesday protesting against the non payment of remuneration and Travelling and Dearness Allowance. - already given

Teachers undergoing training for Census 2011 walked out a training centre here on Tuesday in protest against non-payment of travel allowance and dearness allowance (TA and DA) and lack of basic facilities at the centre.

Census work will begin on Thursday.

The training for teachers and other officials enrolled for the census work is going on in at least three centres in Gulbarga city.

Teachers undergoing training at Nutan Vidyala Degree College complex walked out the centre in the afternoon in protest against non-payment of TA and DA, and lack of basic facilities at the centre.

Secretary of the teachers' association Ambaji Koulga, who led the protest, told The Hindu that the teachers had not been informed of the nature of their work and also remuneration that would be given to them. Most of the teachers participating in the training were not paid any TA, he said, and added that they had been spending on their own to attend the training sessions.

The training centre lacked basic facilities such as drinking water, Mr. Koulga said, and added that even the computers at the centre were not working.

Teachers reportedly boycotted training at an other centre also in the city.

When contacted, Deputy Commissioner R. Vishal said that the Gulbarga tahsildar had assured the protesting teachers that their TA and DA, and details of the remuneration would be released soon and urged them to attend the training.

Dr. Vishal said that following the tahsildar's assurance, the teachers returned to the training. Basic facilities would be provided at the training centres, he added.