Mumbai: Several aided colleges in the city are unsure about conducting the upcoming semester exams on time, as teachers and non-teaching staff joined the state-wide strike to demand the restoration of the Old Pension Scheme.
The colleges have suspended lectures in their aided section, even as the non-aided divisions functioned without any disruption. While the regular summer session exams face uncertainty, the colleges have also been able to hold the Allowed to Keep Term (ATKT) exams, as the number of students appearing for these papers is much lower than those taking the regular tests.
The class 12 board Higher Secondary School Certificate (HSC) exam is also being conducted without any disruption. This is because the protesting junior college teachers had agreed to supervise the test while boycotting the paper assessment work.
Maharshi Dayanand College in Parel couldn't conduct most of their classes since their entire non-teaching staff and around 80% of teachers went on strike from march 14. The college is in a fix, as its first and second year degree exams, as well as the class 11 final exams, are slated to begin tomorrow, on March 18. Around 3,000 students at the college are likely to be affected if the exams are delayed.
We are unable to conduct the exams as we need both teaching and non-teaching staff to carry out various exam-related duties such as printing and distribution of papers, supervising students and taking care of their needs. We will decide whether or not to conduct exams on schedule based on the availability of the staff," said Chhaya Panse, Principal of the college.
The University of Mumbai (MU) on Tuesday announced the dates of 431 tests, which will be held from March 27 onwards, while the college exams are also scheduled to begin within a week or two.
However, some colleges plan to carry out the exams on time through their temporary staff. "Only 18 out of 62 of our teaching staff are on strike. While the bulk of our non-teaching staff has boycotted the work, we have hired some temporary employees," said Rajendra Shinde, Principal of Xavier's College, Fort.
