Hyderabad/Kolkata: A new national committee was elected after the three-day All India Silver Assembly of the School Teachers Federation of India (STFI) in Kolkata.
On the last day of the event, elections were held to choose 87 General Council members, 45 Central Committee members, and 23 Office Bearers. CN Bharti from Haryana became the President, and Chava Ravi from Telangana was elected as the General Secretary. From Telangana, CH Durga Bhawani joined the Central Committee as the female representative, along with Venkat and R. Sarada. All members will serve for three years. Chava Ravi also continues as General Secretary of the Telangana State United Teachers Federation (TSUTF).
The TSUTF State Committee includes State President A. Venkat, Vice Presidents CH Durga Bhawani, Treasurer T. Lakshmareddy, and Secretaries Shanti Kumari, Nagamani, Raju, Ranjit Kumar, Satyanand, Mallareddy, Sridhar, Ravi Prasad Goud, Ravikumar, Simhachalam, Jnana Manjari, and Venkatappa.
During the Mahasabha, 21 resolutions were unanimously passed to improve teachers’ rights and educational policies. Key resolutions demand the abolition of the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) and a return to the Old Pension Scheme (OPS), repealing the PFRDA Act, raising the income tax exemption limit, and scrapping the National Education Policy 2020 and its alternatives.
Other resolutions push for allocating 6% of GDP and 10% of the central budget to education, giving primary teachers voting rights in MLC elections, ensuring equal pay for contract teachers, regularizing contract, guest, and outsourced teachers, limiting teachers to teaching duties only, and regularly replacing teachers in postings.
To support these demands, the STFI announced nationwide protests from September to December. The protests will start with dharnas at zonal centers, move to district-level dharnas, and end with a major demonstration at Jantar Mantar, Delhi. STFI National Secretary and TSUTF leaders Chava Ravi and A. Venkat urged teachers in Telangana to join the protests, emphasizing the importance of addressing challenges in the education sector and securing teachers’ rights.
