With teachers on stir, results may delay in Maharashtra

With the college teachers boycotting assessment of answer papers, results of the graduation examinations all over the state are likely to be delayed.

Maharashtra Federation of Universities and College Teachers Organisation (MFUCTO) called the boycott from April 1. The teachers have demanded regularisation of non National Eligibility Test (NET) and State Eligibility Tests (SET) qualified teachers appointed between 1991 and 1998 in the state.

Over 24,000 teachers from nine universities, namely Shivaji University (SU, Kolhapur), University of Mumbai, University of Pune, Solapur University, Nagpur University, Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University, Sant Gadgebaba Amravati University, Swami Ramanand Teerth Marathwada University (Nanded) and Shreemati Nathibai Damodar Thackersey Women’s University have heeded to MFUCTO’s call.

SU alone has 3,000 teachers participating in the boycott where graduation examinations have started from March 26.  The results are declared within 45 days of the examination.

“The assessment would have started on March 29, which has not happened due to strike. The situation will aggravate if the agitation continues. So far, 4-5 lakh answer papers have been collected in the SU,” said SU’s controller of the examination, B M Hirdekar.
The University Grants Commission (UGC) in 1991 released regulation making the NET and SET mandatory for the college and university teachers. However, the state government released the statute only in 1998. In this period, as many as 10,000 teachers not clearing NET or SET were appointed in the different colleges.

These teachers have been given ‘ad hoc’ status denying promotion benefits.

In August 2009, MFUCTO boycotted colleges for 6th pay scale and regularisation of ‘ad hoc’ teachers from the date of their appointment. The government later accepted 6th pay scale for teachers and assured accepting UGC’s directions in case of ad hoc teachers.

“We approached human resource development minister Kapil Sibal who on August 16 and August 26, 2010 ordered regularising the ad hoc teachers. However, on December 2, 2011 the education department officers approached the UGC seeking revision of the order instead of accepting Sibal’s orders. Therefore we have launched the agitation,” Sudhakar Mankar, co-ordinator of SU Teachers’ Association, the branch of MFUCTO under SU, told DNA.

“The boycott is on the assessment and not on the examination process,” Mankar said.