Patna, September 4 (MExN): On Teachers' Day, September 5, teachers across the country will wear black badges while teaching or participating in functions as a mark of protest against the current educational scenario, informed the All India Federation of University and College Teachers' Organisations (AIFUCTO).
The decision was made during the AIFUCTO’s National Executive Council (NEC) meeting held in New Delhi on August 4, and a countrywide letter campaign was launched on August 31 as the first phase.
According to a press release from the federation, it will also support the proposed demonstration, the Satra-Shikshak Ekta March, organised by JFME on September 5 from Mandi House to Jantar Mantar, New Delhi.
The AIFUCTO has been seeking appointments with the Union Minister of Education and the UGC Chairman to discuss the higher education academic scenario “for a very long time, but in vain.” Meanwhile, the academic situation has deteriorated, while the central government maintains a stoic silence as if everything is under control, it alleged.
The AIFUCTO further informed that during its NEC, the federation set up a series of agitation programs from August 31 across the country in a phased manner. These include a letter campaign from August 31 to September 15, black badges on September 5, and dharnas and protests at the unit level (in colleges and universities) on September 20.
A state-level convention/protest is scheduled for October 4, while a protest before Parliament in Delhi is planned for November 19.
Meanwhile, the AIFUCTO stated that it does not agree with the Unified Pension Scheme recently announced by the Union Cabinet and remains steadfast in its demand for the Old Pension Scheme (OPS). Other demands of the federation include the repeal of the National Education Policy 2020; increasing budget allocation for education to 10% of GDP; and abolition of NEET, CUET, and other centralised tests that minimise states’ and the undermine federal structure of the Constitution.
It also called for extending UGC scales of pay and service conditions to all teachers of grants-in-aid institutions across all states and the immediate disbursal of the Union Government’s share of 50% of the 7th pay revision outlay to state governments. The Union Government must persuade state governments to implement the recommendations of the 7th pay revision in totality, the AIFUCTO said.
Other demands included continuation of the MPhil program and improvements in the service conditions of ad hoc, part-time, guest lecturers, and block grant teachers.
The federation advocated for protecting the secular, scientific, democratic, and federal character of education and demanded the proper implementation of constitutionally mandated reservations for SC/ST/OBC/PWS in higher education institutions.
Additionally, it called for the reinstatement of all scholarships for minorities and SC/ST/OBC, such as the Maulana Azad National Scholarship and Rajiv Gandhi Fellowship, and the waiver of tuition fees for SC, ST, OBC, and girl students.
