Odisha Teachers End 21‑Day Protest After Government Promises Action

For 21 straight days teachers and other education‑sector employees had been camped out at Lower PMG in Bhubaneswar, turning the city’s mornings into a chorus of chants and signs. It was an indefinite dharna that stretched into the night, with participants refusing to leave until their list of grievances was addressed.

On Friday, the tide turned. Leaders from eight teachers’ organisations gathered under the banner of the Odisha School College Teachers and Employees Coordination Committee. After more than an hour of discussion, they collectively decided to suspend the agitation – a move that was welcomed by weary families and commuters alike.

The protest was not without a clear agenda. Among the key demands were: a proper pension and retirement‑benefit scheme, grant‑in‑aid for 194 schools that have long been under‑funded, immediate filling of vacant teaching posts, full implementation of the 7th Pay Commission recommendations, correction of grade‑pay disparities, and a reversal of the recent decision to raise the retirement age from 60 to 62.

Earlier that day, the state’s Higher Education Minister Suryabanshi Suraj and Law Minister Prithviraj Harichandan walked down to Gandhi Marg to meet the protesters. The ministers urged the agitators to stand down and, in return, gave a reassuring handshake that the government would take a close look at the issues.

Minister Suraj mentioned that the administration had already received a massive committee report – 79 separate submissions amounting to roughly 800 pages. “We have the paperwork; now we need to act on it,” he said, adding that a decision would be taken soon. He also asked the teachers to send a small delegation for more detailed talks with the bureaucracy.

With that promise on the table, the teachers’ organisations agreed to pause their protest until the next Assembly session, hoping the promised scrutiny would translate into concrete steps.