Lagatar24 Network
Dumka, Dec. 13: Rajesh Kumar, a differently-abled teacher, went on an indefinite hunger strike at the SKM University (SKMU) headquarter here on Monday to press for the demand of payment of remuneration against teaching students in the Postgraduate Economics department.
Having qualified national eligibility test (NET) in December 2019, Kumar claims that he was forced to go on strike as the university administration refused to adhere to his demand for payment of remuneration against teaching the students of the postgraduate department of Economics on such verbal direction of the then head of the department (HOD) on January 22, 2020.
“I was assured that a fixed sum amounting Rs 600 per class would be paid to me but the university administration continued availing my services without paying a penny until I was disallowed to teach students any further in August 2021 when I approached the Governor cum Chancellor Ramesh Bais during his visit on Independence Day celebration, for the same grievance,” he said, adding that the SKMU administration owes anything around Rs 90000 to him for taking nearly 150 classes.
The SKMU administration, on the other hand, denies his claim and said he was allowed to take classes in the postgraduate economics department without the provision of any honorarium and that his claim for the same was not tenable.
“A three-member committee was constituted by me to look into the claim of Rajesh Kumar at the behest of the Governor,” SKMU Vice-Chancellor (VC) Sona Jharia Minj said adding his claim was found to be unjustified or for that matter, he was not anyway appointed by the SKMU for the job so as to be paid the remuneration.
The VC further said that the UGC had in July 19 come forward with such a provision to avail the service of NET qualified and PhD scholars in postgraduate departments of respective subjects without paying any remuneration which Kumar was misinterpreting.
“Despite having all sympathetic considerations for him being differently-abled abled person he has been indulging in some kind of arm-twisting with the University administration,” the SKMU VC said, adding that humanitarian justice was outside the administrative process so as to oblige someone.
