Maharashtra: HSC exam 2023 paper checking in limbo, as junior colleges set to strike again

The evaluation of class 12 board exam papers will likely be hit, as junior college teachers across the state will once again go on strike.

The teachers had resumed their duties, including paper correction work for the Higher Secondary School Certificate (HSC) exam, a week ago after the state education minister Deepak Kesarkar agreed to meet some of their demands. However, they have now decided to join the state-wide indefinite strike by government employees pushing for the resumption of the old pension scheme among other demands. The protest is slated to begin on March 14.

In a letter to Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Maharashtra State Federation of Junior College Teacher Organization, an umbrella body of higher secondary teachers, demanded the implementation of the old pension scheme for teaching and non-teaching staff that joined the service after November 1, 2005. "We hope that the government will take notice of the employees' long-pending demands. We request you to accept the teachers' and staffers' justified demands and ensure that the strike doesn't happen," read the letter.

The teachers had first started boycotting paper assessments since the beginning of HSC theory exams on February 12. The delay in assessment could affect the timely declaration of results of over 14 lakh students who registered for the board exam this year.