Maharashtra's non-teaching staff pauses protest amid HSC exams

Mumbai: Maharashtra's non-teaching staff associations that had called for intensified protests starting Monday have decided to call off the strikes till March 10, 2023, after the state government submitted a revised agenda to the union.

This comes amid the Higher Secondary Certificate(HSC) board exams which began on Tuesday, February 21, for class 12 students. With the non-teaching staff on strike, several aided colleges within the state had to conduct the first day of board exams without assistance in any exam activities.

Extra teachers had to be called to share the workload, while many colleges resorted to hiring additional staff or relying on non-teaching staff from the self-financed sections of the colleges. The Maharashtra board will also commence with the Secondary School Certificate(SSC) Class 10 exams on March 5, 2023.

“We held a meeting last evening and all the non-teaching staff has resumed work since Wednesday morning. We are positive that a Government Resolution(GR) will be published by March 10 and we won’t have to protest again,” said Rupesh Malusare, General Secretary of Mumbai Vidyapeeth Karmachari Sangh(MVKS).

A week ago, the staffers began protesting to press their long-pending demands about salary benefits and recruitment. The protest even resulted in the University of Mumbai (MU) and Shivaji University Kolhapur withholding their exams for a couple of days. It has also affected the ongoing practical exams at junior colleges, as teachers have also joined the agitation.

The representatives of non-teaching staff had also met with the deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis. "We had a positive discussion and Fadnavis gave necessary instructions to the finance and higher and technical education departments... However, until we get the minutes of the meeting we will continue our protest according to the pre-decided schedule," said a statement from the staff. The minutes have now been provided to the protesting members said Malusare.