Mumbai's teachers voice demands, shun celebration

This Teacher’s Day, hundreds of teachers in the city were of the opinion that there was very little to celebrate.

To air their woes, teachers staged a protest in Azad Maidan on Monday. One of the major issues that the teachers voiced was the lack of government action regarding teachers with fake degrees.

Also, teachers who had won the Adarsh awards last year, rued that they have not yet received the bonus salaries that was promised.

Tired of running from pillar to post, the teachers have now sent an appeal to the prime minister to look into the matter. Last year, around six teachers from schools in the western suburbs were found to have bogus degrees.

The education department had ordered the suspension of these teachers, but since then has not taken any other punitive action against them, claim the teachers.

“These teachers were working in these schools for years together while the teachers who actually worked hard for their degrees were unemployed,” said Janardhan Jangle, president of Teachers Democratic Front.

The teachers also claim that they had submitted a list of 50 teachers from schools in the city who allegedly had fake certificates, along with evidence, but they claim that their complains have fallen on deaf ears.

“The government has not yet taken any action against these teachers. Not even an inquiry has been conducted. We are therefore forced to boycott this day which is celebrated in memory of a respected teacher, Dr Radhakrishnan,” added Jangle.

Similarly, teachers who won the Adarsh Puraskar last year, have alleged that they have not yet received a raise in their salaries to which they are entitled.

“On one hand, we are talking about the sixth pay commission and on the other, the government is not even meeting its promises to teachers. It is a shame that these teachers who are considered to be the best in their field have not yet received the amount promised by the award,” said Anil Bornare, president of Rajya Shikshak Parishad.

A senior education official said that the government is looking into the issue of the Adarsh award-winning teachers and might soon be presented in the cabinet.