Finally, teaching and non-teaching staff involved in the assessment of Class 10 Secondary School Certificate (SSC) examinations have been granted permission to commute by suburban train services by the Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and the state disaster management authority on Thursday. Eligible teaching and non-teaching staff will be given level 2 railway passes to commute by suburban trains.
On Thursday, Varsha Gaikwad, state school education minister, said, "Teaching and non-teaching staff involved in the assessment of Class 10 SSC examinations will be issued level 2 passes in the form of an SMS link, which can be downloaded on the phone. The deputy director (education), Mumbai, will be the coordinating officer to collect division-wise information regarding all such teaching and non-teaching staff."
This decision has come after several teachers of Class 10 on Monday staged a protest at various railway stations of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) for not being permitted to commute by suburban trains services to assess SSC board examinations. In addition, the Maharashtra Rajya Shikshak Parishad, a union of teachers, wrote a letter to Gaikwad, requesting permission for the same.
The education minister then requested the state disaster management authority and the CM to grant permission to teachers to commute by suburban train services in order to complete the assessment work on time and avoid any delay in declaring SSC results.
Vilas Pandey, a Class 10 teacher said, "I am glad I do not have to pay fines anymore. Also, I do not need to spend a huge amount commuting to school by taxi or auto rickshaw. Many teachers and non-teaching staff reside at areas such as Palghar, Vasai, Virar, Ambernath, Kalyan, Karjat, Kasara, Navi Mumbai and Panvel and depend on trains for their commute."
