Teachers, staff at Sinhgad school protest over three years of pending salaries

Shinde said that around 20 months of salary during the Covid-19 pandemic and the remaining 16 months since 2024 are pending. “The management used to credit the basic pay or a part of the salary once in two or three months, because of which the staff continued to work, hoping that the administration would stick to their promise to pay all the dues. However, after repeated follow-ups and failed promises, we had no choice but to protest,” he added.

A bus driver working with Sinhgad Spring Dale School, Ambegaon, who wished to remain anonymous, said, “We have not received our salaries for the last 15 months. Not a single rupee of basic pay, academic grade pay or statutory dues has been paid during this entire period.”
“The situation has now become unbearable. Many of us are struggling to survive in a costly city like Pune, facing financial crisis and emotional distress,” he added.

Grievances unheard

The bus driver said, “Several complaints have already been raised to authorities, including the Directorate of Technical Education, All India Council for Technical Education, Savitribai Phule Pune University, and Pune’s Labour Department, but no effective action has been taken so far.”

Shinde further alleged that instead of resolving the issue, the Sinhgad institution management is threatening teachers and non-teaching staff with termination without clearing their dues. “So we demand that the Chief Minister, the Education Minister, Charity Commissioner and the CBSE board intervene and resolve the matter, and the government may take over the control,” he said.

In March last year, the Pune Municipal Corporation seized 49 properties of the Sinhgad Educational Institute over property tax dues exceeding Rs 200 crore that had been pending for several years.

Parents join protest

A parent of a Class 9 student at Spring Dale School, Ambegaon, said, “We have paid the entire academic fees of around Rs 47,000, in addition to the Rs 15,000 bus fee. Even after paying hard-earned money, the school closed abruptly due to the administration’s gross negligence.”

“First, the administration informed us that the school would be closed due to the Pune Grand Tour event, following which bus drivers and attendants started the protest. It was later joined by teachers, and we had no choice but to support them for a secure future for our children,” the parent said.

“We demand that the management should pay the dues of teachers and non-teaching staff so that they can return to work, ensuring that students should not be at a loss,” the parent added.

Late Tuesday evening, parents received a message from the administration assuring them that the school would resume regular functioning and that teaching and non-teaching staff would receive their pending salaries. The management also assured that such issues would not recur.

The Indian Express attempted to contact M N Navale, founder-president of the Pune-based Sinhgad Technical Education Society (STES), but did not receive a response. State School Education Minister Dada Bhuse told reporters on Tuesday night that the department would look into the issue with Sinhagad Institutes.