State education minister Jagarnath Mahto on Wednesday held an hour-long meeting with representatives of the Jharkhand Para Teachers Association over their demand to rationalise bylaws regarding pay and perks of 67,000 para teachers.

The minister said that before the budget session of the Assembly the bylaws will be suitably amended, and assured that the contract of not a single para teacher would be scrapped on any ground.

“Their demands are very old and I am keen to resolve the issue as early as possible for the betterment of para teachers and Jharkhand. They have given their suggestions over the bylaws,”

Mahto told reporters after the meeting.

Para teachers were hired on contract under the centrally sponsored Sarva Siksha Abhiyan as supporting staff for primary and middle schools. They are the backbone of the education system in the state that suffers from a lack of qualified teachers. They have long been agitating for regularisation of their jobs, besides better pay and perks.

In 2018, para teachers went on strike and boycotted classes for around two months. They even held a protest at Morabadi ground during the statehood foundation day programme in front of then chief minister Raghubar Das, which the police lathicharged.

Later, the government conceded their demand to form bylaws and their honorarium was partially increased.

“We had a fruitful discussion with minister,” a para teacher said after Wednesday’s meeting with Mahto. “As per the bylaws formed during the previous government, the government agreed to give us grade pay of Rs 5,200-Rs 22,000. But we object to the very word ‘honorarium.’ We have requested the government to replace it with ‘salary’. Though it seems a very small and minor thing, but if we are treated as salaried we will be entitled to regular increments as per the rule of the government.”

But under this grade pay only such teachers will be included who have qualified the Teachers’ Eligibility Test. There are around 10,000 para teachers who have cracked the test.

As per the previous bylaws, teachers who are not TET qualified will be given three chances to qualify through special examination. Under the provision, examination of two papers will be held they will have to secure at least 60 per cent marks to qualify. If they fail to qualify, their contract will be scrapped.

“We have said that the number of attempts should be five and even if a para teacher fails to qualify the examination he should not be terminated from the job,” said Md Izhar Ansari; a para teacher from Hazaribagh. “Of course they may not be eligible for enhanced salary. For TET examination there should be only one paper consisting 100 marks only and the pass mark should be 30 out of 100. The minister has agreed to our demand.”