Some of the teachers’ demands include increasing the retirement age to 60, restoring the old pension system, implementing the seniority promotion practice.
The Class 12 examination conducted by the Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education commenced on Wednesday, however, many teachers have vowed to boycott the Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) written examination paper evaluation.
In this regard, the chief moderator on Wednesday gave a statement to the Pune Divisional Board of Education officials that they will boycott the very first meeting held regarding the exam paper evaluation process. It also clearly stated that the agitation will continue till the pending demands are not accepted.
Some of the teachers’ demands include increasing the retirement age to 60, restoring the old pension system, implementing the seniority promotion practice of state government employees based on years of service, and filling vacant teacher positions.
The Class 12 (HSC) examination conducted by the Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education commenced on Wednesday. The process of answer sheet verification starts from the first day of the examination itself. However, the boycott call is likely to impact the assessment process thereby leading to a delay in the declaration of results.
Santosh Fajge, general secretary of the Maharashtra State Junior College Teachers Federation, led the protests, along with its members Mukund Andhalkar and Sanjay Shinde.
“We have decided to boycott the exam paper evaluation process owing to our demands. The old pension scheme should be implemented for teachers, all vacant posts should be filled immediately, and IT subject teachers should be given a higher salary scale. Although the federation has started the protests, students should not be stressed, and should concentrate on their exams,” stated Fajge.
Meanwhile, after the first day of exams, students looked to be content with the English language question paper.
“There was some pressure on me for the first day of the exam, but it went well, and I answered all of the questions,” said Shweta Mahajani, a class 12 student.