Bhubaneswar, Dec. 5 -- Primary school teachers from across Odisha staged a large-scale demonstration outside the State Assembly on Friday, reiterating their long-pending demands for an enhanced pay scale and reforms in service conditions. Thousands of teachers gathered on Mahatma Gandhi Marg in Bhubaneswar, intensifying the statewide agitation that has been ongoing for years.

According to reports, the protest centred on two major demands: an upgrade of the basic post of primary teachers and a corresponding basic salary of Rs.35,400 under Level-9. The teachers also sought the complete abolition of the contractual appointment system in primary education. They demanded that all contractual service rendered since 2001 be recognised as regula...