Varsity, college teachers strike work

In a resolution adopted at the rally, the agitating teachers strongly condemned the Punjab Police for keping in illegal custody about 50 teachers, including women of Punjabi University, Patiala, yesterday.

Patiala: Over 50 teachers of the Punjabi University were rounded up while they were sitting in a dharna demanding acceptance of their demand of grant of UGC pay scales outside the Punjabi University campus gate here last evening.

Dr B.S. Nanda, president and Dr Jaswinder Singh, secretary of the Punjabi University Teachers Association (PUTA), here today said that they were rounded up when they were planning to submit a memorandum, listing their demands under the leadership of N.S. Mann, chairperson of the Punjab Federation of University Teachers Associations (PFUTA), to Union Human Resource Development Minister Murli manohar Joshi who was visiting the campus in connection with a cultural evening organised by the North Zone Cultural Centre at the Punjabi University. The teachers were illegaly detained and kept at the Ghanaur police station for about six hours from 5.30 p.m. to 11.30 p.m., they alleged.

A PUTA press release said that the teachers who were rounded up included PUTA president B.S. Nanda, secretary Jaswinder Singh, women teachers, deans and several heads of the departments. At 11.30 p.m., on their release from the police station, the teachers went to the residence of the pro-vice-chancellor and staged a demonstration for almost one hour condemning the police high-handedness, district authorities and the university administration for humiliating the university teachers.

It said that today’s indefinite strike had paralysed the teaching and research work completely on the campus. The teachers held a rally outside the office of the vice-chancellor which was addressed by PUTA leaders including B.S. Nanda, Jaswinder Singh, S.S. Gill, H.S. Bhatti, Balwinder Singh, B.S. Khaira, Nazar Singh, Chaman Lal, O.N. Shukla, and R.S. Ghuman.

The PUTA executive also decided to hold a regular dharna from 11 am to 12 noon in front of the office of the vice-chancellor to demand for acceptance of UGC payscales.

On a call given by AIFUCTO, the members of the Punjab Government College Teachers’ Association went on an indefinite stay-in-strike from today. They held dharnas in their respective colleges.

P.S. Bhatti, president of the association, in a statement, condemned the district administration for police action against the Punjabi University teachers sitting in a peaceful dharna.

On a call given by All India Federation of University and College Teachers Organisations, teachers of the government-aided private colleges of Patiala district went on an indeifinite strike to protest against non-implementation of UGC recommended revised pay-scales. Teachers of local Modi College, Khalsa College, Public College, Saana and P.M.N. College, Rajpura, held a joint massive rally at Modi College.

Shimla: The academic work in the Himachal Pradesh University came to a stand-still today with teachers, including senior professors proceeding on an indefinate strike to press their demand for implementation of the UGC scales.

Rajinder Singh Chauhan and R.S Chauhan, president and general secretary of the Himachal Pradesh University Teachers’ Association, respectively, said here that call given by the association had received an overwhelming response and teachers had resolved to continue the struggle indefinately.

Rohtak: The Haryana government’s bid to prohibit strike by the teaching staff of colleges and universities by invoking the Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA) failed to dampen their spirits as near total strike was observed by teachers in support of their demands here today.

The teachers of the MDU Teaching Departments Teachers’ Association (MDUTDTA) and college teachers sat on dharna at the teachers common room from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Karnal: The striking college teachers here have condemned the invoking of ESMA by the state government against the teaching and non-teaching staff.

A round of various colleges today showed that the strike was complete in all the institutions. The teachers came, marked attendance in the registers and sat on the dharna. In DAV College for Women, where only the temporary staff took classes, all the 34 teachers were on strike. But the principal did not allow them to mark their attendance.

Ambala: In Ambala zone the principals of different colleges had put up notices for the information of the students that there would be no teaching work with effect from August 11 in view of the strike notice served by the teachers unions. The colleges wore a deserted look.

A piquant situation was created when in some of the colleges the teachers came to the college and demanded the attendance register to mark themselves in, the principals did not allow them to do the same following which the the teachers put their signatures on the unofficial registers.

The teachers had an arguments with the principal of MDSD Girl College, Ambala City while in another college they marked themselves present on the official register. In one of the women colleges, the classes were held as usual until the Union leaders reached there. However, the principal did not agree to discontinue the computer classes.

Confusion marks the present strike. The authorities maintained that the teachers had no right to mark their attendance when they had served the notice to go on strike. The union leaders, however, said that it was a stay-in-strike where the teachers had every right to use the official register. A cross-section of the teachers whom this reporter talked, gave the impression that the indefinite strike had been diluted as the ESMA had also had its effect.

The leaders of the college teachers described the invocation of ESMA by the state government as an over reaction because, according to them, their fight was against the Human Resources Development Ministry and not the state government.