60,000 teachers refuse to correct HSC papers

With their backs proverbially against the wall around 60000 teachers in the state have hit back where it is sure to hurt the most In support of the boycott staged by the Mumbai Junior College Teachers Union these teachers have refused to check answer scripts of the ongoing Higher Secondary Examination until their many pending demands are met by the state government Flagging off the protest members of the union boycotted proceedings on the first day of HSC paper assessment yesterday This impasse may in turn wreak havoc with the schedule for declaration of results of over three lakh examinees in the state Around 5000 teachers from the city are participating in the protest The union members who had gathered outside the HSC board office in Vashi yesterday claimed that they had no bone to pick with the Maharashtra State Board of Higher Secondary Education MSBSHSE but it is only through the board that they can force the government to sit up and take note of their demands The teachers have raised several demands including threetier payscales in keeping with the fifth pay commission with retrospective effect from January 1 1996 and not March 1 2000 They want the services of professors rendered in unaided junior colleges to be counted for the purpose of senior and selection grade They also want a Diploma in Higher education DHE to be treated on par with a B Ed degree for the appointment of viceprincipals and supervisors They want Shikshan Sevaks to be granted 180 days of maternity leave without an extension of the Shikshan Sevak period 10 years of protest Amar Singh president of the union said ldquoWe have been pressing for these demands for more than a decade now However this academic year we were keen on achieving results All through the year we appealed to the government through the education board by submitting letters repeatedly but we have still not received any kind of written confirmationrdquo The protesting union members pointed out that they had not caused any disruptions in the oral and practical exams which had progressed smoothly ldquoNone of the examination papers will be touched till the government gives us a written confirmation that our demands are being met Itrsquos not like we are dropping this on the government suddenly they have been aware about our demands for years nowrdquo said Sunil Purnapatre president of the Thane District Junior College Teachersrsquo Association which has also joined the boycott Moderators are game Union members have requested moderators for different subjects to support the boycott ldquoThe board generally begins conducting meets with the moderators and chief moderator as soon as the exam for a particular subject is over This year too the same procedure is being followed However we have drafted a form requesting moderators to boycott the assessment of exams and to press for these demands for their own welfare The form would be submitted to the Mumbai Division chairmanrdquo said SL Dixit chemistry professor at SK Somaiya College Vidyavihar and vicepresident of the Mumbai Junior College Teachersrsquo union Laxmikant Pande the boardrsquos division chairman for Mumbai confirmed that the union members have been sending letters which he has been forwarding to the state board ldquoThe checking of examination papers was to begin from February 25 But due to teachers boycotting the same completely examination papers would lie sealed with the college custodian itselfrdquo said Pande He clarified that all necessary procedures prior to paper assessment have been completely successfully so far ldquoThe moderators and chief moderators have been coming to the board office in order to collect all the guidelines related to paper checking but have said that they will not begin assessing papers till the government pays heed to their demandsrdquo added Pande Quid pro quo Union members gave the assurance that they would begin checking papers as soon as their demands are met and ensure that the work is completed before time ldquoIn fact we are even ready to work overtime and complete our work once the government gives us a written conformation acceding to our demandsrdquo added Singh MSBSHSE chairman Sarjerao Jadhav said that he was aware of the situation ldquoWe are hoping for a positive output from the government I am sure that this problem will be solved only it might take a while Teachers need to realise that checking papers is a part and parcel of their dutiesrdquo Mistake in question will give full marks The Board has decided to give full marks to all students who attempted question 5 from the rapidreading section of the English paper Among the four sets of question papers that were distributed to HSC students for their English examination on Saturday those who got setB were left confused after seeing question number 5 ldquoThe name of a character in the passage was changed which confused the students greatly This led them to take time to comprehend the passagerdquo said Ishwar Awhad an English professor from a Navi Mumbai college Students however need not worry since the board officials have confirmed the mistake ldquoAny student who has attempted the question would be given full marks for the samerdquo said Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education chairman Sarjerao Jadhav Demand 39Draft39 gtgt Three tier pay scales as per the fifth pay commission with effect from January 1 1996 instead of March 3 2000 gtgtu00a0Immediate sanction of all increased baseline posts till the academic year 201112 gtgtu00a0Selection grades should be given without conditions gtgtu00a0Retirement age should be raised to 60 years gtgtu00a0Dilpoma in Higher education DHE should be treated on par with B Ed for the appointments to posts such as viceprincipal and supervisors gtgtu00a0Maternity leave of 180 days should be granted to female shikshan sevaks without increasing the Shikshan Sevak periodu00a0