Private tuition blot on N-E college’s golden jubilee yr

This is one controversy the North-East’s first college, Cotton College, could have done without in its golden jubilee year. A section o...

This is one controversy the North-East’s first college, Cotton College, could have done without in its golden jubilee year. A section of teachers is under attack for spending most of their time in private tuitions to the detriment of students.

The issue captured public imagination after a former vice-principal, Prof Deven Dutta, wrote a letter in a local daily in which he alleged that a section of teachers were more busy carrying out private tuition than attending classes. His letter evoked massive response from students, teachers and guardians, putting college authorities through a lot of embarrassment.

Dutta’s plea is that while the UGC has made it mandatory for teachers to remain in the campus for at least five hours a day, and the Assam government imposed a blanket ban on private tuition, many teachers were still into it. Dutta, who only recently retired as vice-principal of Cotton College, also submitted a detailed report on the issue to the principal, while the latter directed Joymoti Medhi, the present vice principal, to conduct an enquiry into the allegations.

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Unrest among WB teachers

KOLKATA: Close on the heels of the West Bengal Education Department’s attempt to enforce new discipline among school teachers comes the thrashing of a North 24-Parganas teacher.

Joyonto Haldar was beaten up allegedly by Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) workers in Basirhat after an altercation. The DYFI is the CPI(M)’s youth wing. He was beaten up for his reported unwillingness to comply with the state Education Dept’s order of signing a declaration that he will not take private tuitions. (ENS)

Even as Dutta raised a storm over the issue, the Cotton College Union Society (CCUS) not only extended support to him but also announced it would carry out its own investigation to ascertain how many of the college’s 250-plus teachers were into private tuition. ‘‘Many of our teachers are reluctant to stay long, not even the mandatory five hours a day, as they are more into private tuitions,’’ general secretary of the CCUS, Rahul Das, charged.

He said the CCUS had documentary evidence to prove many city-based private coaching centres are run by Cotton college teachers. The matter has attracted attention of the state government, with Higher Secondary Education secretary A. Sengupta sending a letter to the principal seeking a report.

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Meanwhile, Dutta has revealed that the government had in July last asked college authorities for a list of teachers engaged in private tuition, and he had sent a questionnaire to teachers asking them to reply.

‘‘Most of the teachers known to be indulging in private tuition refused to admit they were doing so,’’ he said. Reacting to the controversy, the Cotton College Teachers’ Association (CCTA) said the allegations were baseless and false. A CCTA press note said no teacher of the college was involved in private tuition and all of them were attending college for five hours a day. ‘‘The private life and conduct of the teachers is of course beyond the jurisdiction of the CCTA,’’ it said.

The teachers association expressed dismay over student union’s move to ‘‘investigate’’ allegations, and said that it was not the duty of students to take up such a responsibility.

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