Guwahati: On the occasion of Teachers’ Day, thousands of provincialised tutors from across Assam submitted a memorandum to governor Lakshman Prasad Acharya, urging immediate redressal of their long-pending grievances.

The tutors outlined five key demands — upgradation of tutors to full-fledged teachers, conversion of fixed wages into regular salaries, extension of retirement benefits on par with other govt employees, ex-gratia assistance of Rs 10 lakh to families of tutors who have retired or passed away, and provision of in-service DElEd training for those who missed the opportunity between 2017 and 2019.

The All Assam Provincialised ME and LP Teachers’ (Tutors) Association, representing nearly 9,000 tutors, staged a protest at the city’s Latasil Field on Friday. They expressed anguish that while the nation celebrated educators, they were forced to highlight their plight — surviving on a fixed wage of Rs 12,000 per month despite decades of dedicated service in community-run schools.

Association president Rabindra Borgohain said in the memorandum that tutors have been serving in remote and educationally backward areas for over two to three decades. These schools were originally established by local communities to meet urgent educational needs. “The state govt later granted opening permissions, recognitions prior to 2006, land allotments, and infrastructure support. The growth of public educational institutions in Assam owes much to such community participation — a practice that continued until 2006,” he said.

Borgohain added that all tutors are already qualified, having completed their DElEd training, and therefore oppose the requirement to appear for the TET. He argued that compelling experienced tutors to sit for such exams is unjust and undermines their longstanding contributions to the education system.

“Many of our colleagues have retired without access to pensions, gratuities, health or life insurance, or any other social security benefits typically available to government employees. Some have even passed away in hardship, and their families continue to suffer,” he added.