Jr college teachers threaten to boycott assessment again

Junior college teachers in the state have once again threatened to boycott the assessment of class XII board exam answer sheets as the state is yet to fulfill their demands. Earlier this month, the government had agreed to fulfill the demands.

The Maharashtra State Federation of Junior College Teachers' Organisation (MSFJCTO), the umbrella body of over 60,000 teachers, had previously declared a boycott on conducting the examination. A decision on the course of action will be taken on Tuesday.

However, the organisation withdrew the boycott temporarily after assurance from the state education department of fulfilling two of their major demands — providing government aid to higher secondary and junior colleges and giving three tier pay scale for teachers. The decision was taken in the state cabinet on February 5.

The teachers were also assured by school education minister Rajendra Darda that the rest of their demands will also be addressed in a few days. "We had withdrawn the strike and boycott on condition that government resolutions regarding the decisions be made by February 20. However, when we followed it up today, the resolutions are yet to be issued," said Anil Deshmukh, secretary of the organisation.

Last year too, the organisation had boycotted the assessment and withdrawn it after written assurances from the state but the demands were not fulfilled. "Last year, we believed the state government and we are still waiting. We do not want to make the same mistake once more," said Deshmukh.