Pune: Candidates aspiring to become college teachers have gone on a strike, with two of them on a fast, in front of the directorate of higher education office in Pune city since Monday. They have alleged that the state govt has failed to take a policy decision on 100% professor recruitment in colleges across Maharashtra, despite chief minister Devendra Fadnavis’s assurances more than four months ago.They have also demanded that the govt increase the clock hour basis (CHB) honorarium to Rs 1,500 per hour as per a University Grants Commission (UGC) notification, instead of Rs 900 per hour that the state has mandated.“In a review meeting held by the CM with the higher education minister and other officials of the department, the CM ordered approving recruitment to 5,012 teaching posts in non-govt colleges. The finance department was supposed to get the necessary approval within 15 days, but that was the end of it. Most colleges in the state are running with temporary appointments in over 60% of teaching posts. What is the point of qualifying NET/SET and PhD if there are no jobs?” asked Nandkumar Udar, showing a copy of the minutes of the meeting. Udar is a NET, SET, and PhD-qualified candidate who teaches at a college as a temporary teacher.Higher education minister Chandrakant Patil keeps assuring every week that the finance department has approved the recruitment of professors, so why it is still not happening, said Sandeep Pathrikar, president of the Maharashtra New Professors Association, who is on a hunger strike. “Suppose the finance and higher education departments are not following the chief minister’s orders. In that case, the CM himself should intervene and resolve the matter,” he said. Interestingly, Pathrikar already has a permanent teaching post in a college but fights for the rights of candidates who are qualified but have no jobs due to the delay in the govt recruitment process.Many aspirants who teach on a CHB said there are colleges that take a cut even from the measly Rs 900 they pay per hour. “Moreover, the govt mandates the recruitment to be valid only for nine months. In my college, there was a 34-day Diwali vacation, which means I was without pay for a whole month. I have two children that I can’t send to a good school because I can’t afford the high fees. I can’t take my family on vacations because during that period, I look for temporary jobs,” said a teaching aspirant.Another aspirant alleged that he has been teaching temporarily for the last 15 years. “Even when the recruitment process is held, people close to the management or those who can bribe the management are chosen over the qualified ones. There needs to be a complete overhaul of the recruitment system. I know teachers who work as insurance agents, sell vegetables, or run tiffin services to make ends meet in bigger cities. If an educated person is suffering so much, that means the state has failed,” he said.Shailendra Deolankar, director of the directorate of higher education, could not be contacted for comments despite calls and messages.
