Tags:
Journalism of Courage
MUMBAI, September 1: Over 2,000 college teachers from various parts of the state who converged at Azad Maidan on Monday decided on a unique form of protest against the central government8217;s handling of the nation-wide teachers8217; strike.
The teachers have decided to innundate the Prime Minister8217;s Office PMO with a flurry of telegram messages from all over the country in order to press their point of view. The high-handed attitude8217; of the central Human Resource Development ministry towards the strike, which was kicked off almost a month ago on August 11, was also flayed.
Some ofthe professors who had come to the city from places like Latur, Beed, Nanded and Konkan, said they are even prepared to start a jail bharo andolan like their colleagues in Delhi if the strike does not end soon. On the eve of Teacher8217;s Day, teachers from various parts of the country will assemble in thousands at Shivaji Park in New Delhi.
The teachers also distributed pamphlets detailing their charter of demands and a recent letter written to the Governor of Maharashtra, Dr P C Alexander, urging him to intervene in the matter and negotiate a settlement between the HRD ministry and the All India Federation of University and College Teachers8217; Organisations AIFUCTO.
8220;In other states, for example in West Bengal, chief minister Jyoti Basu has written to HRD Minister Murli Manohar Joshi in an attempt to end the strike. But we can8217;t say the same about Maharashtra,8221; said Sadashivan.
Another teacher pointed out that the recent University Grants Commission UGC recommendations clearly stated that it is noteasy to attract talent in the teaching field these days, therefore it was necessary to offer lecturers and professors attractive pay scales.
In a signed press statement, General Secretary of BUCTU, Dr S M Paranjapes, stated: 8220;Frustrated by his inability to break the ranks of the striking teachers, the HRD minister has stooped to a very low level by calling a special meeting of hand-picked hard core party hacks to bully the teachers into accepting his offer8217; of giving arrears in one lump sum, if they summarily withdraw their strike.8221;
