Over 1,000 teachers participated in a demonstration at Mumbai University’s Fort campus, of which 900 courted arrest.
With the state government failing to resolve teachers’ grievances, the ‘cease work’ strike called by the 30,000-member strong Maharashtra Federation of University and College Teachers’ Organisations (MFUCTO) will complete a month on Wednesday.
Intensifying its agitation, the academic fraternity held a “jail bharo andolan” across the state on Tuesday. Over 1,000 teachers participated in a demonstration at Mumbai University’s Fort campus, of which 900 courted arrest. They were taken to Azad Maidan police station and released after a couple of hours. Teachers in Pune did not participate owing to the swine flu situation there.
“The state has failed entirely. They’ve shown no concern for our rational demands. The government is withdrawing from its responsibility towards education and the situation is miserable. Teachers who have been guiding the youth now have to court arrest to make the state listen to them,” rued BV Bhosale, a member of University of Mumbai Academic Staff Association (UMASA).
MFCUTO wants the government to announce if it is implementing the Sixth Pay in toto, or declare the deviations in writing. The state government has refused to give such an undertaking. State officials say the exact nature of implementation will become clear once a government resolution (GR) is passed on the issue, but refuse to commit to a date by which the GR would be announced.
The striking teachers also want the state to issue a GR stating that 10,000 teachers were brought under NET/SLET retrospectively, but the state government has so far not agreed to the demand. Thus, despite 26 hours of negotiations spanning 30 days, the deadlock is no closer to being broken.
Meanwhile, around 10 teachers met chief minister Ashok Chavan at Nanded on Tuesday and submitted a charter of demands. “The chief minister said he is aware of our issue and will schedule a meeting with MFUCTO after he returns to Mumbai in a day or so. We are hopeful he will meet us soon and resolve the strike,” said MFUCTO president CR Sadasivan, adding that the principals association has said it may go on a one-day strike in teachers’ support.
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