Ludhiana: College teachers to protest NEP 2020, plan mass casual leave on Nov 19
PCCTU district president Chamakour Singh stated, “The protest will focus on repealing NEP 2020, which is leading to the privatisation of institutions.”
On November 19, nearly 400 regular staff members from 22 aided colleges in the district, have decided to take mass casual leave to protest the New Education Policy (NEP) 2020 at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi. This demonstration, led by the Punjab and Chandigarh College Teachers Union (PCCTU) under the larger All India Federation of University and College Teachers’ Organisations (AIFUCTO), aims to challenge the NEP 2020, which teachers argue is driving the privatisation of education.
PCCTU district president Chamakour Singh stated, “The protest will focus on repealing NEP 2020, which is leading to the privatisation of institutions.”
In addition to opposing NEP 2020, the teachers have put forth several key demands, including increasing the national education budget to 10% of the GDP. Varun Goel, an executive member of the central committee of PCCTU, emphasised the need for the Union education department to halt the merging and clustering of standalone institutions, restore the old pension scheme, and set a uniform retirement age of 65 for university and college teachers across India.
Panjab University Area secretary Raman Sharma highlighted further demands, including granting full autonomy to faculty for curriculum design in higher education and ensuring democratic governance in the sector. Sharma added that teachers also seek the full implementation of the 7th pay commission’s recommendations and an immediate setup of the 8th pay commission for central government employees.
With final semester exams scheduled for the same day as the protest, teachers have formally requested Panjab University to postpone the exams, citing an anticipated staff shortage for that day. District president Singh clarified, “A representation has already been submitted to Panjab University to postpone the exams on November 19. Ad-hoc staff may be available, but without regular staff, we urge the university to reschedule to prevent any disruption.”