Retired high school teachers demand pension under OPS

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: Claiming to be eligible for benefits under OPS (Old Pension Scheme), the Assam High School Retired and Working Teacher-Employee Association (naba pad pradeshikrita) demands the State’s intervention to resolve their issues.

In a press conference held at Dispur Press Club on Monday, the Association addressed their issues and claimed that even after being eligible for the facilities under OPS, they are deprived of monthly pension, death and retired gratuity including medical service by imposing a scheme like NPS (New Pension Scheme). The association alleged that there is no logic behind including them under NPS as the date of joining of the provincialised teachers and employees is before the year 2004.

Association’s general secretary, Nripendra Nath Sarma said, “We’ve visited and consulted our issues with the respective minister and pension director as well. A lot of problems remained in the recently enacted Assam Venture Educational Institutions (Provincialisation of Services) Act 2011. Around 15000 teachers and employees posts got provincialized under this Act. We were provided with the allotment order by the authority as per the appointment letter given by the school managing committee. As the authority approved the day of joining while giving us the allotment letters, it is clear that our date of joining is before 2004. Moreover, we are government employee since the day we were allotted with the Ad-hoc grant. So, there is no reason to include us under NPS.”

The Association urged the State and respective departments to make them free from NPS and to provide them pension and other facilities under the OPS. The other demands urged by the Association are – to provide them with death and retirement gratuity, medical service and regular pension by calculating the day of their service from Adhoc Receiving Date, to provide the salary to their family of those who had to meet their death during their service period. In case of providing pension and other service, the Assam Services (Pension) Rules 1969 should be followed and the retired high school teachers and employees should also be provided with the facilities like other government pensioners receive.

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