Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav announced on Friday that the state government will provide the "fourth-time pay scale" to nearly 1.5 lakh government school teachers, a move that will require an additional ₹117 crore annually. He made the announcement at a state-level Teachers' Day programme, where he also transferred ₹330 crore for school uniforms for 55 lakh children.
"The government will give the fourth-time pay scale to assistant teachers, senior teachers of educational cadre, primary teachers of new educational cadre and secondary teachers. This will benefit 1.5 lakh teachers in the state," Yadav said. He added that a proposal would be brought to the cabinet for this purpose, and teachers would receive the pay scale from the 2025-26 financial year.
The Chief Minister also said that Sandipani schools are being opened in the state and highlighted that the academic results of children from government schools had been better than those from private schools, calling it the "best result in the last 15 years."
Yadav spoke about the important place of a 'guru' (teacher) in Indian tradition. "In ancient times, the guru used to prepare future rulers. Maharshi Vishwamitra took Lord Ram and Lakshman with him and destroyed the demons by giving them knowledge of weapons and scriptures. Similarly, after killing Kansa, Lord Krishna reached Maharshi Sandipani's ashram in Ujjain and performed many divine acts," he said. He added that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India is moving ahead with strength.
Yadav noted that former President Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan had said that his birthday should be celebrated as Teachers' Day to acknowledge the contribution of teachers. Since then, he said, teachers have been honoured on September 5 in the country. Madhya Pradesh Governor Mangubhai Patel and Yadav also honoured a number of teachers at the event.
Chatraveer Singh Rathod, the President of the Madhya Pradesh Shikshak Sangh, welcomed the decision, stating that the Chief Minister had fulfilled a long-standing demand and that the move would substantially benefit the state's teachers. The Governor added that in the age of social media, it was necessary to instil discipline in children. "Teachers should discipline children at school and parents should do so at home. This will create a sense of respect for elders in the minds of children. Teachers should be respected in society," he said.
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