In a bid to safeguard their jobs, nearly 200 teachers from government run schools from all over the state have embarked upon a hungerstrike at Azad Maidan since the past four days. The teachers have been forced to resort to the protest as they have been termed as “excess” and face termination after the schools they taught in shut down due to lack of students.
According to the Maharashtra Rajya Shikshak Sena (MRSS), the teachers’ wing of Shiv Sena that has taken up the cause of these teachers, the government is responsible for the welfare and well-being of the teachers and should look at ways to rehabilitate them rather than rendering them jobless. Speaking about the issue, J.M. Abhyankar, president of the MRSS and former joint secretary of education, most of these teachers have been working for more than 15 years and were employed by the government to teach in government-run schools.
“Earlier, when the schools had sufficient students, the government took care of the teachers, however, as the number of students opting to study in government-run schools has gone down, the government has decided to terminate their services,” said Mr Abhyankar.
He added that the MRSS had made a representation for the teachers with the authorities and suggested steps to employ the excess teachers productively. “Many schools have to face shortage of teachers. These excess teachers are willing to take up the vacant posts. They are willing to go to any extent to safeguard their jobs,” said Mr Abhyankar.
Sarjerao Jadhav, chairman, MSBSHSE, who also holds the additional charge of director of school education said he was unaware of the plight of the teachers. “I will inquire with the concerned officials and ask them to resolve the issue,” said Mr Jadhav.