Correspondent

ITANAGAR, 9 Jul: The Arunachal Pradesh Teacher Educators’ Association (APTEA) launched an indefinite pen-down strike at all 11 District Institutes of Education and Training (DIET) on Thursday as part of the third phase of its protest under the slogan ‘No Pay, No Work’.

The APTEA is demanding regular and timely payment of salaries of DIET employees through the state exchequer.

The APTEA stated that, despite repeated meetings, appeals, and peaceful protests, the government has not yet resolved the issue.

Although an indefinite strike was originally planned from 15 June, it was postponed after assurances from the education minister that efforts were being made to resolve the matter.

Members of the association held meetings with Education Minister PD Sona on 23 June and 7 July. However, since no clear timeline or written commitment was provided, the APTEA decided to continue with the indefinite strike.

The association stated that the protest will continue until the government gives a clear, written, and time-bound assurance.

During the strike, APTEA members will not perform official duties, including classroom teaching, academic activities, teacher training programmes, administrative work, examinations, and evaluation work.

As a result, admission to the first-semester DElEd admission, scheduled from 9 July will be affected. Regular classes for the DElEd third semester,scheduled from 15 July, will also be affected.

Besides, teacher training programmes planned for this month and evaluation of answer scripts for the second and fourth semester DElEd examinations (June 2026) will be affected.

The APTEA said it remains committed to a peaceful and democratic resolution, and has urged the government to take immediate action regarding its demand.

The association appealed to students, parents, civil society organisations, and the public to support its demand for timely payment of salaries and strengthening of teacher education institutions in the state.