In most of the colleges in Punjab, faculties are protesting against the state government for non-implementation of UGC scale.
Revealing their future plans,the representatives of Punjab Federation of University and College Teachers Organisations (PFUCTO) announced that on September 4 , teachers from all over the state would proceed on mass casual leave to hold a rally in Chandigarh. PFUCTO representing five universities, 54 government colleges and 170 non-government colleges of Punjab and Chandigarh would protest against the state’s failure to notify the revised UGC pay scales approved by the Punjab Cabinet on June 18.
However, the irony is that teachers admit that such protests send wrong signal to students but also feel that it is the only option to get their demands fulfilled. Head of political science department at Arya College, PS Bhogal, said, “Undoubtedly these protests or agitations affect the college environment and ultimately even studies suffer but now the situation is that whether it is the government or the management of some institutes, they do not act unless and untill teachers or employees start expressing their anger in the form of protest.”
Meanwhile, refusing to agree that such protests “affect the mind of students”, a senior professor at Government College, PPS Sohi, said, “Teachers understand their responsibility and so stage their peaceful protests during non-interaction period. I think it is our system which is responsible.”
In earlier agitations, teachers had worn black badges on July 29, staged demonstrations during off periods on August 3 and ceased work for an hour to hold campus rallies on August 7.
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