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News Topical, Digital Desk : The battle to change and maintain the narrative between political parties ahead of 2027 has intensified. The BJP is attempting to gain a strong foothold by weakening the issues raised by the opposition, particularly the Samajwadi Party. The Yogi government's one-time increase of eight thousand rupees in the honorarium of Shikshamitras (teachers) is part of this strategy.
With this support, the BJP is not only building a network of support among Shikshamitras and those associated with the education sector, but is also attempting to silence the questions raised by the SP on issues ranging from school mergers to teachers' rights. To avoid this risk, the SP is working to change the narrative of the honorarium increase. It is attempting to intensify the debate on the government's decision as "relief versus rights."
The issue of Shikshamitras has been on the agenda of political parties. They were appointed by the Kalyan Singh government in 1999. In 2005, the Mulayam Singh Yadav government increased their honorarium to 2,400 rupees, and then in 2007, the Mayawati government increased it to 3,000 rupees per month.
In 2014-15, the Akhilesh government adjusted trained Shikshamitras to become assistant teachers, increasing their salaries to 40,000 rupees. In 2017, the Supreme Court annulled the adjustment, restoring Shikshamitras to their original honorarium, which the Yogi government later increased to 10,000 rupees per month.
Since then, Shiksha Mitras have been demanding an increase in their honorarium and have been constantly questioning the Samajwadi Party government. Now, the Yogi government has increased the honorarium to 18,000 rupees per month. Currently, 1,42,929 Shiksha Mitras are employed in the state.
Through this, the BJP has sought to appeal to a large segment of the population and counter the Samajwadi Party's aggressive stance on the issue of primary education. Shikshamitras are not only voters themselves, but they can also influence the electoral landscape in many constituencies through their families and social networks.
The Samajwadi Party (SP) had previously attempted to create an anti-BJP atmosphere by using PDA schools on the issue of merging council schools. Now, after the honorarium increase, the Samajwadi Party wants to maintain its narrative.
On Wednesday, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav sent this message in a new open letter to the Shikshamitras on X. He tried to remind and explain that it was the SP government that appointed them as teachers. The strategy is to prevent the discontent within the Shikshamitras from escalating. To this end, the SP Teachers' Association has been activated.
The message being conveyed is that only the Samajwadi Party can do them justice. Consequently, the issue is no longer just about salary, but also about respect, stability, and trust, and this will determine who the Shiksha Mitra leaders will stand with.
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