Teachers’ stir off but won’t assess papers until Feb 26

Over 14 lakh students appearing for the Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) board examinations starting on Thursday are relieved as teachers have called off their non-cooperation movement.

The teachers claimed they would help the students in every possible way and conduct examination procedures efficiently but they would not assess answer papers till February 26.

This move is likely to prolong the assessment process and delay the declaration of results. The decision to call off their stir came after a meeting with state education

minister Vinod Tawde on Wednesday. Over 75,000 teachers were scheduled to participate in the stir. They claimed that they changed their decision because they did not want add to the stress of students at this juncture. Anil Deshmukh, a senior teacher leading the protest, said, “Students should not take any stress as we will help them and complete all tasks like distributing question papers, supervising and collecting answer scripts. We do not want students to suffer during this crucial time.”

However, the teachers are firm about not conducting the assessment of answer scripts till February 26. Deshmukh said, “We have been assured by the education minister that we will have a meeting with the state

finance department on February 26 to resolve issues regarding our financial aid. We have not received our salaries and financial aid from the state for the past five years. We will not assess answer papers till our issues are addressed at the meeting on February 26.” Teachers of the Maharashtra Federation of Junior College Teachers Organisation (MFJCTO) have been protesting as their demands like payment of salaries, financial aid and filing of vacant posts in junior colleges have not been fulfilled by the state despite repeated appeals.