Junior College teachers against staff approval norms

They say some of the rules of the online procedure will render up to 10,000 out of 60,000 teachers jobless; protest planned for July 9

The Maharashtra State Federation of Junior College Teachers Organisation (MSFJCO) will be holding a protest across the state on July 9. The organisation, which will hold the protest in city at Azad Maidan, is not happy with the norms of online procedure of teachers’ approval in junior colleges in the state. Some of the norms will render 9,000 to 10,000 teachers, out of the total 60,000, jobless, MSFJCO has claimed.

The state had come out with a government resolution last year that said approval of staff in junior colleges in state would be done online. According to one of the norms, teachers and non-teaching employees will get approval only if there are 80 students in every class in junior colleges attached to schools and 120 students in every class in junior colleges attached to degree colleges. This step may shut down 1,000 divisions in junior colleges in city and may also shut down junior colleges themselves that are in rural areas, the organisation has claimed.

MSFJCO general secretary Anil Deshmukh said, “Due to these norms, many teachers will be surplus, which means they will lose their jobs. Also, students will have to continue their education in unaided junior colleges, paying more fees, if divisions close down. A division may close down even if there are 79 students in a class of a junior college attached to a school and 119 in a class of a junior college attached to a degree college.”

The organisation has said that it has been following up on the issue with education minister Vinod Tawde for the past one year, when the GR was released. But all efforts have been in vain, said Deshmukh.

The organisation has said that it will take a decision on July 15 whether to go on an indefinite strike from July 21.

Source | Daily News Analysis | 7 July 2015