Degree college teachers of Mangalore University withdrew their dharna and protest scheduled to take place in front of the Deputy Commissioner’s office on Friday after the State government “withheld” a controversial circular of enhancing the teaching hours.
Association of Mangalore University College Teachers (AMUCT) had called for the dharna to protest against a November 10, 2014 circular of the Department of Collegiate Education. It had enhanced the teaching hours from 16 hours to 22 hours a week with immediate effect. According to the circular, for those teachers having practical classes it would become 26 hours of teaching a week.
The AMUCT withdrew the dharna after it got a copy of a letter of the Principal Secretary (Higher Education) to the Commissioner, Collegiate Education which mentioned about “withholding” the circular issued earlier “till further orders.”
Addressing the college teachers who met at Besant Women’s College on Friday Norbert Lobo, president, AMUCT said that the teachers were withdrawing the dharna temporarily as the government had withdrawn the circular only till further orders stating that it would be difficult to implement its circular in the middle of the academic year. It meant that the government might re-issue its circular effective from 2015-16 academic year.
The AMUCT would launch an agitation if the government re-issued its circular.
He said that the managing council of the AMUCT would meet on November 29 to discuss various academic issues.
The AMUCT would support the science teachers of degree colleges who have opposed a recent direction of Mangalore University which said that a teacher should evaluate 30 answer scripts a day from 25 scripts at present. Science teachers have said that it would be highly impossible to evaluate 30 scripts a day in the interest of students.
