Following the protest of degree college teachers over 100 per cent mandatory attendance for final year exam work, the state issued another government resolution (GR) on Monday stating teachers can work online and need not visit colleges physically. Teachers of Bombay University and College Teachers' Union (BUCTU) staged a protest because they did not want to commute to colleges amid the Covid-19 scare.
Teachers of Mumbai, Thane, Raigad, Palghar, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg districts along with the Bombay University and College Teachers' Union (BUCTU) staged a protest over the mandatory 100 per cent attendance as per GR issued on September 18. Pranali Nath, a teacher said, “If the final-year exams are being conducted online then there is no need to insist on visiting colleges physically. The exam related work can be completed virtually while we are working from home."
Over 12,000 teachers submitted a signature campaign to the Chief Minister (CM) of Maharashtra demanding withdrawal of the GR. Following which, on September 21, the state issued another GR stating: "Teachers do not need to attend colleges physically but can work online from home or via any other feasible option to complete final-year exam related work. In order to prevent any delay in exam related work, individual colleges and universities can take a decision regarding attendance of teachers at their level."
Tapati Mukhopadhyay, president of Maharashtra Federation of University and College Teachers' Organisation (MFUCTO) said, "We initiated a signature campaign with 6,000 teachers of Mumbai, Pune, Nanded and Amravati districts on the day the GR was issued followed by another 6,000 signatures of other districts of Maharashtra. We are glad the government has withdrawn the initial GR and issued a new one considering the concerns of teachers."
Currently, colleges along with their exam staff are working on final-year exam related processes such as setting multiple choice question (MCQ) papers, Google forms and proctoring softwares.
