Education Notes

Maharashtra Paltry pay petition Jalna, november 11. The Aurangabad bench of the Bombay high court stayed a termination order served by management on seven teachers of MS English School, Jalna and directed the management to deposit outstanding salaries until November 2023 in the court. The teachers were among 42 educators who filed a writ petition over the paltry and irregular salaries paid to them leading to termination of their service. The teachers, with teaching records ranging from six to 26 years, claimed that their service had been terminated by the school without any prior notice. In their petition filed in court, they also alleged that they were classified as temporary teachers and paid salaries of Rs.12,000-30,000 per month — way below Seventh Pay Commission salaries prescribed for government school teachers. Expressing concern over the situation, the bench said, “If teachers have been working between six to 26 years, as is the contention of the petitioners, it is incorrect to say they are temporaries. A trained graduate has to be regularised after completion of the probation period.” Haryana Police rebuked Chandigarh, november 3. Renu Bhatia, chairperson of the Haryana State Commission for Women, criticised the police for failure to act promptly on the complaints of over 50 students of a government school in Jind district who accused their 55-year-old principal of sexual harassment. The complaints were forwarded to the police on September 14 but action was taken only on October 30, she said. The Haryana police booked the school principal 48 days after he was suspended by the Jind district administration over allegations of sexual harassment. The Jind police has formed teams to arrest the accused but the principal has evaded arrest, said a police spokesperson. Himachal Pradesh Pre-primary ed boost Hamirpur, november 18. The state government has resolved to construct buildings for 49 anganwadi (pre-primary) centres — currently being run in private buildings — in Hamirpur district at an estimated cost of Rs.5.88 crore, said Hemraj Bairwa, the district’s deputy commissioner. “The state government is taking positive steps to ensure proper nutrition and preschool education of children in the 3-6 age group. Efforts are being made to provide best facilities in anganwadi centres and to construct dedicated buildings for such facilities,” said Bairwa, addressing a press conference. Added Balveer Singh Birla, District Programme Officer, Women and Child Development ministry: “These buildings will be constructed under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) programme. A total of Rs.12 lakh will be spent on each building.” Provision for the anganwadi buildings will be made under MGNREGA — Rs.8 lakh and Rs.2 lakh from the 15th Finance Commission funding to the state, and Rs.2 lakh will be contributed by the Women and Child Development ministry. Tripura TIT-Providence MoU Agartala, november 5. Chief Minister Manik Saha cleared a proposal of the public sector Tripura Institute of Technology (TIT, estb.1958) to sign a partnership agreement with the Taiwan-based Providence University. Addressing the media, the chief minister said: “The Memorandum of Understanding will enable…