High Court halts disengagement of Siksha Sahayaks

The Orissa High Court today directed the state government not to go ahead with implementing an order passed by the School and Mass Education department on April 26 pertaining to the disengagement of Siksha Sahayaks without the leave of the Court.
Adjudicating over a petition filed by 29 Siksha Sahayaks across the state, Justice S N Prasad gave the direction after issuing notice to the state government to file its counters to the petitions.
School and Mass Education Secretary Ranjana Chopra had issued a circular last month to all district Collectors asking them to disengage all Siksha Sahayaks in their respective districts who have failed to submit their Odisha Teachers Eligibility Test (OTET) pass certificates by March 31, 2013.

Challenging this circular, one Sashmita Jena of Jharsuguda and 28 other Siksha Sahayaks had approached the High Court urging it to quash the circular as the same was contrary to the resolution of the state government as well as the instructions issued under the advertisement published by the government on December 2011 for engagement of 17,543 Siksha Sahayaks across the state.