Teachers of junior colleges and aided schools across the state went on a day’s token strike on Tuesday, to press for pay parity with central government teachers. Also on strike, albeit an indefinite one, were teachers of degree colleges, protesting non-implementation of the Sixth Pay Commission scales. The strikes, coupled with heavy rains, disrupted classes in colleges and aided schools in the city.
While most degree college teachers were on strike at Jai Hind College, Churchgate, junior college teachers reported for work. It was the same at KC College. As a mark of protest, in some colleges like St Xavier’s College, Dhobi Talao, teachers attended college and signed the register but did not teach. “Only 15% of staff and students made it to college today,” said St Xavier’s principal Fr Frazer Mascarenhas. At Wilson College, Chowpatty, while degree college teachers were on strike, junior college teachers came to help out with the admissions but stayed away from lectures.
Some colleges, though, did not join the strike that was called by Maharashtra Federation of UniversityCollege Teachers Union. “All teachers attended college. While they endorse the cause they did not want to disturb teaching,” said HR College principal Indu Shahani.
“We have reports that the strike was a success in Raigad, Sindhudurg, Ratnagiri, Mumbai, Navi Mumbai and Thane,” said Madhu Paranjape, joint secretary of the Bombay University and College Teachers’ Union.
Meanwhile one of the associations of degree college teachers, the Mumbai University College Teachers’ Association (MUCTA), said it would get back to work on Wednesday. “We decided to get back to work after we met minister for higher, technical and medical education, Rajesh Tope. He has agreed to take up most of our demands, so why protest when the matter can be sorted across the table,” said Vaibhav Naravade,university senate member and MUCTA secretary. Tope assured the MUCTA delegation that he would present the file on implementing the Sixth Pay Commission scales in the next cabinet meet. Moreover, he assured them that lecturers appointed in 1991-99 without NET/SLET, and exempted by the University Grants Commission, would soon be added to the state rolls. Other demands included allowing principals to remain in the old pension scheme if they moved from one state university to another and making it mandatory for all engineering colleges to register their teaching staff with the university. Tope assured the delegation he would get back to them within three days in this regard.
The school teachers‘ strike too had a wide impact. Of the 150-odd schools in and around the city run by the Archdiocesan Board of Education (ABE), most were closed, said ABE general secretary Fr Gregory Lobo. “We allowed schools to decide whether they wanted to close officially on Tuesday. Some were officially closed, others managed on limited staff,” he added. At Holy Family School, Andheri, teachers from the secondary section were on strike. “We ran classes with the help of management staff and shikshan sevaks (contract teachers),” said principal Fr Francis Swamy, adding that school closed early for the day.
None of the teachers at Dadar’s Raja Shivaji Vidyalaya attended school on Tuesday. At Bansidhar Aggarwal Model School, Wadala, teachers wore black ribbons in protest instead of going on strike.
Meanwhile, both the higher education department as well as the department of primary education say they are open to a dialogue with teachers. Tope said he will meet teachers’ unions on Wednesday. “By tomorrow, I can assure you that the issue will be resolved,” he told. “Teachers want us to implement the Sixth Pay Commission, something we are already working on. There has been a delay because of the government procedure that has to be followed,” he added.
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