Fatly salaried college teachers on stir mode
- The People's Chronicle Editorial :: June 26, 2021 -

WHEN chief minister N Biren recently commented that one shouldn't expect free food grains, treatment and medicines in an apparent retort to the opposition parties' tirade against the government over the upsurge in price of petroleum products, the message was clear that the financial position ofthe government is not very healthy at this juncture.

The chief minister's outburst might have been intended to silence the critics but it underscored the fact that Manipur has been chronically depending on the Centre's goodwill and patronage, especially so in this pandemic period.

Amid such distressful situation, government college teachers under the banner of FEGOCTA threatening to cease conduct of online classes and boycott the scheduled examination seems to be both ill-timed and infeasible as their demand to translate into action the agreement signed earlier on implementation of the 7th UGC pay-scale would mean additional spending from the exchequer.

Without any doubt, the college teachers wouldn't be amused with the government's failure or inability to keep the promise as per the signing of pact with the college teachers' body.

Nevertheless, the threat to halt the staggering teaching and learning process amid the challenging times ofthe Covid-19 pandemic is unlikely to go down well with the public in general and the students in particular.

The fatly salaried college professors and lecturers can't be naive of the fact that due to the pandemic lowly-paid private and government-aided school teachers would be receiving only 70 per cent of their entitled monthly salary, that too depending on generosity of the parents and guardians, regardless of these school teachers sustaining their service through the online mode.

Compared to the pitiable situation of thousands of private school teachers who haven't received their salary since cessation ofthe conventional classroom teaching, college teachers have been regularly enjoying their entitlements which are multiple times higher than their poorer cousins.

Even though the college teachers have higher educational qualification, the service being rendered by the private school teachers cannot be undermined as they are the ones moulding the future pillars of the society from the grassroots level.

When private school teachers have been enduring serious financial crisis but resiliently fulfilling their obligations, it is disheartening to learn that the college teachers are planning to derail the online tutoring and examination process to pressurise the government concede to their demand, basically centring on guaranteeing them additional worldly comfort.

The college teachers have every right to express dissent against the government's failure to uphold the agreement but it would be gross injustice to the students if they completely cease the limited academic activities in pursuance of their yearning for higher salaries.

As their current pay-scale is among the best and they aren't facing any financial or health threat since they are working from the comfort of homes unlike the many other salaried employees who are vulnerable to contracting the infectious Covid-19, government college teachers, who are seen as intellectual members of the society, should ponder over their plan of agitation.

In case, they go ahead with the cease work, then the public would not only construe real motive of the agitation as making the students the proverbial sacrificial lamb to live life lavishly but also infuriate student bodies which have already disapproved the stir plan of the college teachers.