Due to job losses, we cannot even refuse any task, say city professors

At a time when there are pay cuts and salary delays professors from across city colleges are a hassled lot due to erratic work timings Most of them complain that the workfromhome culture forces them to toil all day with no fixed timings in placeThe fact that they have to attend to students at any given time of the day is adding to their stress and leaving them with no personal time Also they fear that it might eventually affect the quality of educationPic for representationA professor from a Kurlabased college said I had to finally tell my students that they should call only for urgent matters other things can be resolved over messages or emails I have also asked them to wait for me to respond and not call multiple times We understand that in these uncertain times we have to be mentally fit and continue with work at the same time but I realised what is going wrong when my family pointed it out And after all this if someone says that a professors job is easy its really frustrating added the professorColleges have failed to understand that taking lectures online is more exhausting than in a regular classroom setup shared another professor adding that there was no way of knowing whether students were understanding whatever they were being taught onlineProf Vaibhav Narawade president of Mumbai University and College Teachers Association and Dr G B Raje president of Bombay University College Teachers UnionAnother professor from a college in the western suburbs said Because of the uncertainty over jobs and considering the fact that many people are losing their jobs we cant even deny any task I have a couple of students who are currently out of India and they do not have access to textbooks or notes Hence I have to ensurethat those are digitally delivered to themNot paid for two monthsIn many colleges multiple divisions have been merged into one as the lectures are being held online adding to the stress of the teachers Prof Vaibhav Narawade president of Mumbai University and College Teachers Association MUCTA said Over 35 per cent of colleges has had a pay cut This is a major problem for the professors who are on contract or in selffinanced courses or unaided private colleges There are some colleges where teachers have not been paid for two months making it difficult for them to surviveAdding to this Prof Madhu Paranjape said College managements have removed several professors and have also not appointed new people even as some have retired All this is leading to a lot of stress and creating burden on those who are working Nobody knows how many teachers have lost jobs and the Mumbai University has failed to perform its role as a regulatory body Earlier I was teaching four subjects and taking 1820 lectures a week But now I am teaching six subjects and taking around 25 lectures a week This does not end with just lectures We also have to prepare for lectures give assignments assess them create question banks for exams and evaluate as well shared a professor from a South Mumbai collegePapersetting tasksAmid all of this professors are also stressed over papersetting tasks as it is completely arbitrary There used to be a committee of three professors who were given two to three weeks time to design three question papers out of which one would be used for an exam The professors were also paid for this But now with the changed pattern of multiple choice questions we get a WhatsApp message in the evening that by the next morning we have to submit 2530 questions for a subject Though professors are doing it they are not paid for it whereas students are paying full examination fee shared another professorIf a job that needs 10 people is done by five then it will definitely add stress and create other issues The University cannot turn a blind eye towards these problems Moreover the academic council of the varsity should issue an academic calendar like every year With no uniformity there is complete chaos creating more stress for students and teachers said Dr G B Raje president of the Bombay University College Teachers Union BUCTU who has written to the MU regarding a few issuesKeep scrolling to read more newsCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and a complete guide from food to things to do and events across Mumbai Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates MidDay is now on Telegram Click here to join our channel middayinfomedialtd and stay updated with the latest news