The Old Pension Scheme issue in Gujarat is becoming contentious with teachers demanding immediate implementation but the Gujarat government not doing anything concrete about it. Teachers from across Gujarat have once again joined forces to protest the failure of the state government to implement the promised old pension scheme from August 16. The teachers’ union leaders claim that the government had promised to introduce the scheme to win the Lok Sabha elections but has broken its promise.
Under the Old Pension Scheme (OPS), a government employee receives a pension equal to half of their last drawn salary at the time of retirement. Importantly, no deductions are made from the employee’s salary for this pension. The scheme also includes a General Provident Fund (GPF) and provisions for increasing the dearness allowance every six months to adjust for inflation.
About 5,000 teachers from primary, secondary, and higher secondary schools are participating in the agitation at Gandhinagar’s Satyagraha camp. The Akhil Bharatiya Rashtriya Shikshak Mahasangh organised a sit-in protest demanding the restoration of the old pension scheme. Shaikshik Mahasangh Gujarat’s president, Bhikhabhai Patel said a settlement was reached with five ministers on September 16, 2022, before the assembly elections, but the government had not implemented it to date.
The association asserted, “We are fighting for our rights, not for any political gain. The promises made by the government have not been fulfilled.” Patel pointed out that the Uttar Pradesh government had reinstated the old pension scheme for pre-2005 teachers and questioned why the Gujarat government had not done the same. There are about 65,000 teachers in Gujarat who were employed before April 2005.
Mahasangh general minister Paresh Patel emphasised that the movement aimed to fulfil their demands. “The government is not giving us a fair reply, so we will escalate the agitation,” he said. Teacher Vaishaliben Patel added, “We are fighting together for our rights. The old pension scheme is our right. Teachers from all districts of the state are joining the movement.”
In response to a question about teachers settling abroad, Bhikhabhai Patel called for investigations and action. He urged the government to amend the leave rules, citing a loophole that allows teachers to leave the country. “The government should take action against those who drop out of continuing education,” he insisted.
The old pension scheme was discontinued on April 1, 2004 and replaced by the National Pension Scheme (NPS). Under the old scheme, the employee used to get the Dearness Allowance-linked pension. In this scheme, the pensioners used to get the benefit of enhanced pension every six months due to the periodic hike in dearness relief.
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