State assurance failed to put off teachers’ strike

MUMBAI: Unconvinced by the assurance given by the Maharashtra government that it would partially lift the ban on hiring teachers and non-teaching staff in degree colleges, an indefinite strike called by the teachers entered its second day on Wednesday.

The said assurance was given to the representatives of protesting teachers by education minister Vinod Tawde on Tuesday. But the teachers went ahead with the strike. They have asked chief minister Devendra Fadnavis to intervene.

“No time frame was provided by the government. These assurances won’t resolve anything. We won’t go back to work, as there’s no indication that our demands will be fulfilled,” said Tapati Mukhopadhyay, president, MFUCTU.

The teachers want the government to lift the ban on hiring teaching and non-teaching staff at aided colleges. They also want the state to implement the Seventh Pay Commission and hike salaries of teachers appointed on clock-hour basis.

In its response, the state said the process to lift the ban on all singular teaching and some technical non-teaching posts in private aided colleges and certain

proportion of lecturers’ positions, was underway. Tawde said a government resolution (GR) would also be released soon. The minister remained unavailable for comment.

But the teachers alleged the assurance was ambiguous. “The government hasn’t clarified the number of vacant posts that would be filled. It appears to be an eyewash,” added Mukhopadhyay.

To bring financial stability by curbing expenditure on employees, the state in 2015 put a freeze on creating new posts and filling existing posts. A GR issued in May 2017 said the freeze will continue for respective departments until they take a stock of their existing posts and finalise a new administrative framework for the department.