Chavan on Sunday intervened in the matter. A 16-member delegation of teachers met Chavan at his Malabar Hill residence to discuss the matter. Teachers are also protesting that fact that those appointed between 1991 and 1999, but had not cleared the NET/SLET exam, have not been paid their dues.
Talks between the striking teachers and the state higher education department, which lasted 26 hours over a period of seven days, recently fell through.
'The CM understood the our issues. However, he said that he would need to talk to the education minister before coming out with a final decision. Talks will continue in the coming week,'' said CR Sadasivan, president of the Maharashtra Federation of University and College Teacher Organisations (MFUCTO), adding that teachers' unions were thankful that the chief minister had intervened in the matter.
"If the Maharashtra government implements the revised pay scale in its entirety, the Centre will fund 80% of the costs,'' said Sadasivan. "However, the government is apprehensive about implementing the scheme. Chavan told us that if certain benefits in the composite scheme are implemented for teachers, other employees may also make similar demands. This would involve a huge financial commitment that the government is not in a position to accept. The CM is ready to accept certain modifications in the composite scheme,'' added Sadasivan.
The CM said the NET/SLET issue should be resolved through a policy decision of the government, and not by sending individual cases of teachers to the UGC, Sadasivan added.
Striking college and university teachers have pointed out that, though the Maharashtra government only made the NET/SLET exams a necessary entry-level qualification for teachers in December 1999, they have penalised all teachers without the qualification appointed between 1991-99. Teachers have pointed to other state governments that have acted in a more just manner. For instance, a resolution passed by the Assam government in 2004, makes the NET/ SLET exam compulsory for all teachers, but exempts teachers appointed before December 24, 2008. "The Assam government has not implemented the rule retrospectively like the Maharashtra government has. The Maharashtra government is penalising teachers and withholding their dues because they do not have a qualification that was not mandatory at the time of their appointment,'' said CR Sadasivan, president of MFUCTO.
Source : Times of India
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