Police Laathicharged On More Than 300 Unaided School Teachers,7 Injured And 4 In Hospital
Mumbai: Seven people were injured and four of them admitted to hospital after the police lathi-charged more than 300 unaided school and junior college teachers rallying from Azad Maidan to Mantralaya. The teachers are on a strike and have been protesting at Azad Maidan for the past 15 days. They have been demanding a 100 per cent grant to unaided schools and junior colleges.
The teachers said though they are eligible for full salaries through grants, they are getting half salary in comparison to aided schools and junior colleges. There are nearly 4,500 teachers from Mumbai and 65,000 across the state. The other cities where parallel protests are being conducted include Nagpur, Pune, Amravati, Latur, Aurangabad, Nashik and Kolhapur. The protests have hampered the functioning of unaided schools and junior colleges with most of the schools not conducting classes due to the absence of teachers.
In 2012, the government had declared that eligible unaided schools will get paid from the state government. Starting from 20 per cent, the grant was to increase by 20 per cent each year. By 2016, the schools should have become 100 per cent aided. However, the education department said that due to financial constraints, only 20 per cent aid has been granted, which has led to state-wide protests.
Teachers are also demanding that those whose jobs have been jeopardised due to a lack of aid should be declared surplus and accommodated in other schools. In 2012, the government had declared that eligible unaided schools will get paid from the state government. Starting from 20 per cent, the grant was to increase by 20 per cent each year.
By 2016, the schools should have become 100 per cent aided. However, the education department said that due to financial constraints, only 20 per cent aid has been granted, which has led to state-wide protests. Teachers are also demanding that those whose jobs have been jeopardised due to a lack of aid should be declared surplus and accommodated in other schools.
The police officials on protest duty said they cannot allow any kind of protest or demonstration outside Azad Maidan as per the High Court’s order. The lathi-charge continued for nearly 10 minutes until the crowd dispersed. “As all the protesters came at once towards the gate, we lathi-charged to keep the situation under control,” said a senior police officer.
Meanwhile, a junior college teacher Ganesh Ghori said if the government does not grant aid to these schools, teachers will be forced to take the extreme step of taking their own lives.
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