The Maharashtra State Federation of Junior College Teachers Union (MSFJCTU) called off the boycott of examination duty on Wednesday. The teachers said that they had agreed to assess and moderate HSC answer books from Thursday after the state assured to fulfill six of their 21 demands within two months. Education minister Rajendra Darda informed the legislature of the same and said that the remaining 15 demands of the teachers would be fulfilled after three months. “The junior college teachers have called off the boycott of Class 12 exam paper evaluation,” the minister said, while making a statement in both the Houses. “The government has agreed to three key demands of the teachers, including considering Diploma in Higher Education (DHE) for service seniority,” Mr Darda said. The MSFJCTU had started the agitation on February 21 against the state government over non-fulfillment of their demands, including pay scales in keeping with the Fifth Pay Commission recommendations, with arrears from 1996 and not from 2000. The union had also demanded that the DHE be treated on par with the B.Ed degree for appointment of vice-principals and supervisers of junior colleges. The minister said that the government has also agreed to a major demand of the federation regarding maternity leave for “shikshan sevaks”. Confirming Mr Darda’s assurances, Anil Deshmukh, president of MSFJCTU said that they were thankful to the legislators and ministers for supporting the teachers and making their voice heard at the highest level. “We will start assessment and moderation from Thursday and ensure that the results are declared on the date announced by the board,” said Mr Deshmukh.
