For the second consecutive day, lecturers working at Pre-University colleges across the State boycotted classes. A large protest rally on the issue of wage disparity in their remuneration was held at Freedom Park here on Friday.
Hundreds of Pre-University teachers, who had gathered here, expressed their anger towards the indifference of the Government. Lecturers are demanding that their salaries must be brought on a par with degree college teachers. Teachers pointed out that they are paid a basic of around Rs. 11,400, though the Sixth Pay Commission recommended that the salary be increased to Rs. 13,400. The salaries drawn by their counterparts in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu were hiked, they argued.
Earlier this year, teachers had boycotted the evaluation of II Pre-University examinations. The Government had then, to settle the matter, promised to resolve the matter in 30 days. However, once the evaluation was over and the vacations began, the Government turned its back on them, they alleged. Successive protest rallies have yielded no result. “Hence we decided to go on an indefinite boycott starting today,” a representative of the teachers' association said.
