By now when the Government’s skin has been exposed, finding little option of hoodwinking, it has given a 24-hour deadline to the agitating lecturers, who have boycotted the Plus II valuation works, to join duty. The move smacks of anything but ‘coercion’. Seemingly cast in the mould of an ‘autocrat’, the Government mulls to explore the extreme means against the weather-beaten Block Grant teachers who have been demanding due and fair pay for long years. The teachers and the millions of people of the State for whom they are rendering services have got to know that the Government seeks to take credit of fulfilling its basic obligation of providing education but by tightening its purse string. The 16,000 teachers in the Block Grant salary would take four times of what the Government is presently spending for them if they are regularized and given grant-in-aid (GIA).
The Government reaction to the agitating teachers’ unified stand has been two-prong. It has warned them of stern disciplinary action on the one hand, while on the other it has made an alternative arrangement of pressing into service all kinds of teachers, including the retired ones, from university to autonomous and degree colleges to evaluate the Plus II papers.
The message is loud and clear. The Government by no means wants to budge, however much it is apprehended that the alternative arrangement may not be foolproof.
Evaluation by teachers who have no touch with the Plus II course is likely to leave many lacunae in the work putting a question mark on the career of lakhs of students. It may trigger many a row after the result is published. But the Government and for that matter the CHSE are least concerned about it and want to wash their hand off the process by any means.
The teachers’ bodies of 662 and 488 categories under Block Grant system had threatened to boycott the valuation works before the beginning of the CHSE examination in March. They had also decided to boycott the examination itself. But on the assurance of the Higher Education Minister, they had participated in it. So the Government was well aware of the eventuality likely to take place in the event of non-fulfilment of the teachers’ demands. It had enough time for a contingent plan. Nevertheless, it took the matter casually much the same way it has been taking the demands.
On the other hand, the agitating teachers have for the first time after long years have shown a unity that looks unprecedented. Even though belatedly, the teaching community of different shades has come together to a single platform showing unique solidarity for a singular cause: Extension of GIA policy.
During the leadership of late leftist leader and educationist Abani Baral, the teacher fraternity from primary to college levels was able to maintain a strong unity and a single strike call of the Shikshak Mahasangh was enough to paralyse the education system within no time and take the wind out of the sails of the Government. But subsequently the teacher fraternity for petty selfish interest split into confusing numbers of groups and sub groups thereby weakening their unity and giving the Government a free hand to exploit them. The result is the Government continued to hand out a raw deal to higher education and did little to extend UGC scale and provide promotional facility to the non Government aided college teachers. Most importantly, it stunted the GIA Policy of 1994 framed by the Biju Patnaik Government for these colleges.