With more than 600 examiners sharing the space at the hall in the campus, there is not enough place for them to sit. They grab the nearest empty seat they find.
Over 600 of them jostle for space in a cramped hall while correcting papers
MUMBAI: Umesh Pandey (name changed), an examiner correcting commerce answer sheets at Kalina campus, does not even visit the toilet lest his chair be grabbed by someone else. With more than 600 examiners sharing the space at the hall in the campus, there is not enough place for them to sit. They grab the nearest empty seat they find. Lack of proper ventilation only adds to their woes.
“If I leave my chair unattended for a few minutes, there is no guarantee that I will still find it empty when I return. Teachers even have to jostle each other for an empty chair,” said Pandey.
Apart from inadequate infrastructure, the examiners have to bear the smell emanating from the toilet near the hall. “How can we correct papers amidst such conditions? We are using our vacations for this, only to put up with the stink from the toilet,” added another examiner.
On March 14, the examiners refused to correct answer sheets for three days unless basic infrastructure was provided. “We had asked for better working conditions and also an increase in our remuneration. We were assured that air-conditioned seminar halls at the campus would be provided to examiners, but nothing has been done yet,” said a member of Bombay University College Teachers Union (BUCTU).
Examiners who come from districts such as Ratnagiri, Raigad and Sindhudurg have to bear with discomforts like sharing cramped rooms and a single toilet. “I share a room with six examiners and the toilet in the hall with 12 examiners. It gets unhygienic when we have to wash clothes, bathe and use the toilet,” said an examiner.
The examiners are also unhappy with the compensation they receive for their work. “We get only Rs80 per day as cap allowance, which has remained the same for the past five years. Now that the university is hiking the examination fee, we are demanding a raise in the allowance to Rs200,” said another member of Buctu.
AD Sawant, pro vice chancellor, Mumbai University, said, “We are making every effort to provide examiners with all the facilities. We have already made arrangements so that they can sit comfortably in the hall. We will also install air-conditioners in the rooms. The problem has arisen because the number of examiners has gone up this year.”
r_priya@dnaindia.net
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