Teachers reject HRD Ministry overture, stay away from classes putting students in quandary

Murli Manohar Joshi feels the scales demanded by striking teachers are unrealisticThere was a brief period of irony last week. Union Minister for Human Resource Development (HRD) Murli Manohar Joshi, himself a physics professor, was lecturing on science and philosophy in Geneva, while back home; teachers across the country were abandoning classes and taking to the streets.Before he left on August 18, Joshi met a teachers' delegation and gave them verbal assurances on increasing their pay packet. On one condition: withdraw the strike before I make this offer. The teachers refused, Joshi caught his plane and the 65 lakh students all over India were again left in the lurch. Since the new academic session started a month ago, in most universities there hasn't been a single day when classes have not been disrupted. Things can only get worse. Especially since both sides haven't budged an inch. All state universities under the All India Federation of University and College Teachers' Organisations are already on an indefinite strike. The Central universities (under the Federation of Central University Teachers' Association - FEDCUTA) are on a week-long strike, but can only extend it since there's been no change of offer from the HRD Ministry. .preferred-source-banner{ margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom:10px;}Says Shiba C. Panda, secretary, Delhi University Teachers Association (DUTA): "It isn't that we don't have the students' interests in mind. It is just that we have been forced to take an extreme step because the Government doesn't seem to understand any other language."Trouble began when Joshi in a notification on July 27 offered a revised pay scale and promotion scheme. The pay scale of a lecturer - at Rs 8,000-275-13,500 - matched that of an IAS fresher's pay packet.But teachers are demanding Rs 2,000 more - recommended by the pay-scale committee of the University Grants Commission (UGC) in December 1997. When Joshi took over in March this year, he refused to accept the recommendations. Reason: the country couldn't afford it. Since then, besides the matter being taken to the Delhi High Court, Joshi has revised salary structures twice (the last one would cost the exchequer Rs 2,300 crore) but the teachers remain unhappy.Click here to EnlargeSays Shashwati Majumdar, a DUTA activist: "The UGC is the one which should decide for us. Not the HRD Ministry." Teachers also say it took three months for the ministry to come out with the new notification which is no different from the earlier one. Also, instead of linking wages with the issue of accountability, he indicated he would look into the matter only after the salary issue was resolved. Teachers point out that the low pay scales are only attracting the lower-end of job-seeking graduates who cannot assure quality. Says S.N.H. Jafri, president of FEDCUTA: "Better salaries will attract better talent." The Government, however, insinuates that the majority of students today consider college a waste of time because of callous teachers who don't maintain any quality. Their salaries, however, are assured. The fight continues. And, as always, colleges just sink deeper into the education mess.Published By: AtMigration Published On: Aug 31, 1998--- ENDS ---

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Teachers reject HRD Ministry overture, stay away from classes putting students in quandary

Teachers reject another HRD Ministry overture and stay away from classes putting students in a quandary.

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