Shimla, May 1 (UNI) The Himachal Pradesh High Court has issued a notice to the state government over suspension of primary teachers (JBTs) who were protesting against the government's move to merge the Directorate of Elementary Education with the Directorate of Higher Education.

Justice Sandeep Sharma directed the state government, Education Secretary, and Director of School Education to respond within a week.

The court clarified that if no reply is filed, the matter will be decided based on the petitioners’ submissions.

The case has been posted for hearing on May 13.

The petition was jointly filed by Jagdish Sharma, Sanjay, Pratap Thakur and Ram Singh Rao, who alleged that their suspension was a unilateral act intended to suppress their constitutional right to protest. They contended that their headquarters were also arbitrarily shifted to far-flung areas without justification, even though the suspension order did not involve any charge that could be affected by their continued presence at their previous postings.

The teachers had participated in a protest on April 26 at Chauda Maidan, Shimla, after duly informing the Education Department. However, the government responded by suspending 10 teachers and registered an FIR (first information report) against them.

Since then, the JBT teachers have launched an indefinite sit-in protest outside the Directorate of Education, demanding a rollback of the merger decision. They insist that the administrative and financial powers of head teachers, centre head teachers and block primary education officers must remain intact.

The ongoing strike has intensified the standoff between the primary teachers and the state government, with the matter now drawing judicial scrutiny.

UNI ML SS