Nanded, Oct 12 Senior college lecturers and non-teaching employees staged a sit-in protest outside the Joint Director of Higher Education’s office in Nanded on Monday, demanding the quick implementation of long-pending demands concerning higher education in Maharashtra.
The protest was organised by the higher education wing of the Maharashtra unit of the Akhil Bharatiya Rashtriya Shaikshik Mahasangh (ABRSM) as part of the first phase of its statewide agitation.
The agitation in Nanded covered the division under the jurisdiction of Swami Ramanand Teerth Marathwada University (SRTMU). The protesters demanded that the state government take a final decision and implement their long-pending demands without further delay.
A key demand was the protection of teaching posts and the filling of 5,012 sanctioned vacancies based on student enrolment figures from 2017. The Mahasangh also opposed the minimum student-enrolment condition allegedly imposed at the Joint Director level, describing it as unauthorised.
The protesters demanded that clock-hour-basis appointments continue until all vacant posts are filled through regular recruitment and that the existing honorarium of Rs 350 per hour be increased.
They also sought clear, scientific and uniform workload norms under the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, covering all academic verticals and 132 teaching credits.
The Mahasangh called for the implementation of the University Grants Commission’s fourth amendment for promotions to the post of associate professor. It also sought a special drive to clear pending Career Advancement Scheme (CAS) cases.
Another major demand was the extension of the Old Pension Scheme to aided-college teachers appointed against posts advertised before November 1, 2005.
It also called for the early recruitment of librarians, directors and non-teaching staff, along with the filling of pending vacancies and clearance of promotions in universities.
(PTI News)
