MP Teacher Candidates End 16-Day Hunger Strike After Govt Agrees To Talks; Digvijay Singh Offers Juice To Protesters

Naidunia Representative, Bhopal: The 16-day hunger strike by Madhya Pradesh teacher candidates at Bhopal's Neelam Park ended on Saturday following intervention from former Chief Minister Digvijay Singh. The candidates have been protesting to demand an increase in the number of Class 2 and Class 3 posts in the state's ongoing recruitment process.

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Protesters End Hunger Strike After Govt Agrees To Talks

During his visit to the protest site, Singh spoke directly with School Education Minister Uday Pratap Singh over the phone. The Education Minister said that Chief Minister Dr Mohan Yadav had been informed of the candidates' demands.

Following the call, a joint meeting between the Education Minister and candidate delegates was scheduled for Tuesday, September 8. Singh will also attend the meeting. Based on this assurance, the former Chief Minister offered juice to the candidates, ending their hunger strike.

Pending Appointments And Age-Limit Concerns

The ongoing protest stems directly from significant delays in the recruitment process. Under the Higher Secondary Teacher Recruitment Examination 2023, a total of 8,720 posts were advertised. However, only 2,901 appointments were made after the first round of counselling, leaving the hiring process for the remaining 5,819 posts pending.

As this recruitment drive was conducted after a gap of five years, a large number of eligible candidates are at risk of crossing the maximum age limit.

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Demand To Add 15,000 Additional Teacher Posts In Recruitment Process

The candidates have urged the state government to accommodate 15,000 teacher positions, approved during the budget session, into the ongoing recruitment process for Class 2 and Class 3. They maintain that adding these posts to the current process would eliminate the expense and delay of conducting fresh examinations, while providing immediate appointments to thousands of eligible candidates.