Teachers stage protest in Srinagar over arbitrary exclusion from Best Teacher Awards
Srinagar: Dozens of teachers staged a protest in Srinagar, Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), against what they described as humiliation by the School Education Department after their names were suddenly dropped from the Best Teacher Award list.
According to Kashmir Media Service, aggrieved teachers from different districts assembled outside the residence of IIOJK Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and raised slogans against the authorities. They accused the Education Department of administrative highhandedness and disrespect for arbitrarily altering the awardees’ list a day before Teachers’ Day celebrations.
The teachers said that ten days ago, the department had formally announced that four teachers from each district would be felicitated, adding that names were finalized and made public, prompting families and communities to celebrate the recognition.
“Till September 4, our names figured in the official list. Suddenly, without citing any reason, the department reduced the number of awardees by half. We feel insulted. This is not about the prize but about our dignity,” said one of the protesting teachers.
Several teachers who had left their homes early in the morning to attend the felicitation ceremony in Srinagar instead converged at Omar Abdullah’s residence to express their anger and demand accountability. They warned that such arbitrary acitons undermine transparency and morale, and vowed to continue to pressing for fairness in the recognition process.
