Senate member Taywade handing over memo to proVC Peshwe
Nagpur: Professors from five districts on Thursday staged a protest at the main gate of Nagpur University, demanding an immediate rollback of National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, which they claimed was adversely affecting students, teachers and the higher education system.
In an earlier memorandum submitted on Oct 12, DBATO had sought clarity from govt by Oct 25 on “several issues arising from implementation of NEP”. The organisation said no concrete response had been received, prompting Thursday’s agitation. The teachers alleged that NEP was being implemented without adequately considering the workload of teachers, vacancies, infrastructure constraints in rural colleges and the academic needs of students. DBATO president and Senate member Omprakash Chimanakar stressed the workload needs to be clearly defined, with sanction for additional posts.
The protesters warned that if the govt and university administration failed to take a concrete decision, DBATO would begin a chain hunger strike from Oct 30.
If the govt fails to make the necessary changes, teachers will not undertake additional classes and teach subjects created under NEP from the next academic session without the required approval,” he said. Young Teachers Association coordinator and Senate member Babanrao Taywade said the govt and university should first determine the workload of teachers and fill vacant posts with full-time appointments in the interest of students. DBATO secretary and Senate member Shrikant Bhowate said many colleges lacked adequate infrastructure and teaching staff to implement the new system effectively.
“Teachers already in service must be protected. Nitin Kongre, secretary of NUTA and a Senate member, demanded that the implementation of NEP be halted until the existing concerns were addressed. The agitation was supported by several teachers’ organisations, including the Young Teachers Association, NUTA, MASWE, NUPETA and Bhimachi Lekar. Senate member Manmohan Bajpai, Principal Forum president Prof Bandu Naik, Prof Ajit Shringarpure, DBATO Nagpur city president Vinod Raut, district president Nitin Meshram and vice-president Rashtrapal Meshram were among those present.