The capital city witnessed a massive show of strength on Wednesday as approximately 1,000 to 1,500 Government teachers from across the State gathered outside the Directorate of Public Instruction (DPI) to protest a recent mandate requiring veteran staff to clear the Teachers’ Eligibility Test (TET). Representing a unified front of major teacher unions, the protesters staged a spirited sit-in and successfully submitted a formal memorandum to the Director of the DPI, outlining their rejection of a policy they describe as career-threatening. The core demand presented in the memorandum is for the Madhya Pradesh Government to immediately file a review petition in the Supreme Court. The teachers argue that those recruited between 1995 and 2011 were appointed under service rules that did not include a TET qualification. They contend that imposing such a requirement decades into their careers is a violation of their original service conditions and constitutional rights. Furthermore, the unions demanded that the State Government take legislative or administrative steps, similar to those initiated by other states, to dilute the stringent central rules and protect the seniority of existing staff.

 

The memorandum highlights a detailed list of grievances, specifically pointing out that several other states are taking proactive measures to shield their educators from such retrospective mandates. The teachers are demanding that the MP government follow these precedents to ensure that no veteran teacher faces the risk of removal. Teachers nearing retirement expressed particular distress, calling the mandate an insult to their decades of service and a source of unnecessary mental agony. Reinforcing the movement’s urgency, Subhash Sharma, State General Secretary and State President of IPSEF, declared that this protest was only a warning shot. He stated that if the government fails to address all the demands, on April 18, the agitation will be intensified manifold. Sharma warned that teachers from every single district would converge on Bhopal for a definitive showdown. The unions have also threatened to launch a state-wide movement involving the families of the teachers, effectively turning the professional dispute into a public campaign to ensure their job security and professional dignity are maintained.