Maharashtra teachers protest at Azad Maidan over TET and election duties
Various teachers’ associations across Maharashtra observed a statewide school shutdown and staged a dharna protest at Azad Maidan in Mumbai on July 9. The mass demonstration and school closures were organized to demand immediate government intervention regarding Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) rules, new promotion norms, and the assignment of non-academic duties to teaching staff.
The one-day protest resulted in school closures across the state alongside various district-level demonstrations. According to participating teachers, the accumulation of non-academic duties and controversial policy changes have left them unable to focus on classroom teaching, which they stated is adversely affecting the overall quality of education in the state.
A key demand of the protest is the complete exemption from the mandatory TET for teachers who were appointed before 2013. The associations pointed out that these educators were recruited under the rules that prevailed at the time of their appointment, making the subsequent mandatory test unfair.
In a letter sent to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, the Maharashtra Rajya Prathamik Shikshak Samiti, a statewide primary teachers’ association, urged the government to bring teacher-friendly changes to the state's TET framework. The association suggested that instead of the current format which requires candidates to memorize the curriculum, the test should be redesigned to be more application-oriented. They stated this would be more practical for in-service teachers and would allow them to clear the test based on their years of teaching experience.
The teachers also demanded a complete exemption from Booth Level Officer (BLO) duties assigned to them under the Special Intensive Revision of the electoral roll. The associations called the BLO duty an added load of non-academic work that hampers regular classroom teaching. Multiple schools across Maharashtra have raised concerns about teachers being forced away from their classes to complete this electoral work.
Additionally, the protestors objected to the state's revised promotion and staffing norms. The teachers alleged that the new promotion policy does not consider seniority in experience, while the revised staffing rules will ultimately reduce the number of teachers in primary schools.
