Bullying lecturers leave II PU students restive

A belligerent section of pre-university (PU) college lecturers appears to be playing with the lives and careers of thousands of students by insisting they will not budge from their stand to boycott evaluation work to press for the implementation of their demands.

Hundreds of lecturers affiliated to the Karnataka State PU College Lecturers’ Association on Sunday took out a rally in Freedom Park. The lecturers made it clear that the PU education department’s announcement on Friday to constitute a panel to look into their demands was not convincing enough for them to give up their militant ways.

The lecturers’ boycott has disrupted the evaluation work, which began on Friday. Though the Karnataka State PU College Lecturers’ Association is a new union and claims a 400-strong membership, association activists are said to be achieving success in getting their other colleagues also boycott evaluation work. The PU education department, however, is tight-lipped about the impact of the boycott.

The lecturers are demanding that their wages be brought on par with that of their counterparts in degree colleges.

The agitation, however, has left about 6.5 lakh students who wrote II PU exams last month and are eagerly awaiting the announcement of results to make their career choices, in a state of uncertainty.

“If the lecturers have any issues with the government, they can clear it up after the completion of the evaluation work instead of boycotting work now. We have high regard for our teachers and but they are acting in an irresponsible way,” said Sushma P, a student who has written her II PU exams.

“We have completed the exams just a week back and are preparing for CET. But the lecturers’ decision to boycott evaluation has left us disturbed. We don’t think we will get justice during evaluation,” observed Kumudhini, a student.

Parents, a worried lot
The parents of II PU students too are a worried lot. “Teachers are no doubt irresponsible. If they were responsible, they would not have used evaluation work as a weapon to fulfill their demands. I am sure this will affect the results,” said Venkat Raju, a parent.

“What were they doing for the entire year? Why are they making the boycott of evaluation work an annual ritual? The government must take stringent action against them,” said Edwin, another parent.

“We are planning to meet some student organisations to start a counter-protest against the lecturers and put pressure on the government to bring them back to evaluation work. I am co-ordinating in this regard with parents of my daughter’s classmates,” Raju said.

Akhila Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) office-bearers, meanwhile, confirmed that they were with the students. “When the lecturers came to us asking for our support, we clearly said that we will not join hands with them,” Ravikumar, state secretary, ABVP, told DNA. “The lecturers have never staged a protest for the cause of education. They protest only for their  own benefit, for salary issues. I think they have not understood their responsibility,” Ravikumar said.

PU education department officials are furious with the lecturers and are waiting for the state government’s order to take further action. “Their problem cannot be resolved overnight, and none of the states are giving UGC pay scales to PU lecturers. We will see for two more days and, if they do not come back to work, we will take legal action. We are answerable to 6.5 lakh students and 13 lakh parents. We are firm in our decision that we will not delay the announcement of results even by a day,” a top official said.