SUBHASH MISHRA
Dhanbad, July 12: Keeping the postgraduate teachers of Binod Bihari Mahto Koylanchal University (BBMKU) Dhanbad under lock and key during working hours has triggered sharp resentment among teachers of all the seven universities in the state.
The Federation of Universities Teachers Association of Jharkhand (FUTAJ), the frontal body of all university teachers of the state, has taken the matter seriously. FUTAJ general secretary Prof Rajkumar (who is also the president of Ranchi University Teachers Association) said that it is a serious matter. He would take a detailed report from BBMKU TA general secretary Prof Himanshu Shekhar Choudhary and do the needful for the dignity of teachers.
“If needed, the FUTAJ would take up the issue with the Chancellor (Governor),” he said.
BBMKU keeps PG teachers under lock from 10 am to 4 pm on the campus without any prior notice. Teachers are not allowed to go out, and if any teacher goes out, the guard does not allow him re-entry.
The BBMKU PG Teachers Association held a meeting over this unprecedented move of the university and criticized it for confining teachers on the campus without notice.
Prof DK Singh, general secretary of PGTA after the meeting said that teachers would not tolerate insults from guards at the gate. “Teachers are ready to accept all orders of the university provided a notice in this regard is issued. It is nothing but to harass the teachers and inflict humiliation. That can’t be accepted,” he said.
PGTA president Prof Bhagwan Pathak, BBMKU TA president Prof RK Tiwari, general secretary Prof Choudhary, spokesperson Prof Jitendra Aryan and over two dozen senior teachers were present.
Kolhan University Chaibasa PGTA president Prof Rajendra Bharti expressed shock and surprise over keeping teachers confined on the campus. “Teachers are not bonded labours of the university. They need to go out for data collection and other academic activities during working hours. They are already making biometric attendance. We condemn the step,” he said.
Sido Kanhu Murmu (SKMU) Dumka PGTA general secretary Prof Amita Kumari said that teachers make biometric attendance but they are not kept under lock on the campus in SKMU.
SKMU TA general secretary Prof Santosh Sil resented strongly and said that such an order would not only lower the dignity of teachers but also hamper their academic activities. It must be protested, he added.
Prof Sukalyan Moitra, vice-president of Vinoba Bhave University Hazaribagh PGTA, expressed surprise and shock over keeping teachers locked on the campus in BBMKU. “I don’t know from which stream BBMKU vice-chancellor (V-C) has come from to give such an order,” he added.
“Teachers’ dignity is at par with V-C and their academic activities can’t be curtailed by confining. Teachers already give more than 8 to 10 hours in the university for examination, evaluation and NAAC works. So, it is wrong to keep them under lock,” he said.
