Margao: The appearance of former state Congress president Amit Patkar, GFP chief Vijai Sardesai and AAP MLA Venzy Viegas on a common platform at a Teachers’ Town Hall on Sunday has fuelled speculation of a possible pre-poll opposition arrangement.Organised by Patkar, the event was billed as a forum to raise the grievances of teaching and non-teaching staff, but the trio used the platform to project a common “Goa First” plank and attack BJP govt, signalling a show of opposition unity.Patkar highlighted long-pending demands of the teaching community, including bringing pre-primary education, recognised as part of the foundational stage under the National Education Policy 2020, under the Goa Education Act, 1984, and Goa Education Rules, 1986. He also demanded grants in aid for English-medium primary schools and pay parity for lecture-basis and contract-basis teachers in high schools and higher secondary schools.“If govt can’t do this, then we will have to take to the streets,” Patkar warned.Sardesai attacked BJP govt over its spending priorities and questioned how the state could achieve the goals of “swayampoorna” and “viksit” Goa without adequate spending.Recalling the 2022 assembly verdict, Sardesai said Congress had won the mandate, but 18 of its MLAs subsequently defected to BJP. Referring to survey findings suggesting that many Goans expect BJP to complete a hat-trick in 2027, he urged voters to “look for alternatives”.“We have come here to give you alternatives,” he said.Sardesai also promised that if “our govt” came to office, no teacher would be employed on a lecture-basis, contract-basis or temporary status. “That will be our first decision, as stability is required in the education system,” he said.The political rhetoric was accompanied by accounts of the insecurity faced by teachers employed on temporary terms. A teacher who has spent 16 years working on lecture-basis appointments at various higher secondary schools broke down while describing her experience.
