Junior College Teachers To Protest At Azad Maidan Over Corruption, Administrative Irregularities

Junior college teachers from Mumbai Division — covering Mumbai, Mumbai Suburban, Thane, Raigad, and Palghar — will stage a sit-in protest at Azad Maidan on Friday, 2 May, demanding immediate action against the Deputy Director of Education, Mumbai, and his office over allegations of irregularities, corruption, and administrative delays.

Last week, teachers marched to the Education Board office and submitted a memorandum, but dissatisfaction with the lack of concrete response from State Director of Education S. D. Suryavanshi has prompted further agitation.

The Mumbai Division Junior College Teachers’ Association has accused Deputy Director Sandeep Sangave of inefficiency and failure to address critical issues. Teachers' problems related to service approvals, salary disbursements, and compliance with the Maharashtra State Teaching and Non-Teaching Staff Rules and the School Code remain unresolved.

The association also alleges widespread irregularities in calculating workload hours, manipulation of student numbers to reduce teaching staff, and wrongful terminations. Arrears of salaries, despite available government funds, have reportedly not been disbursed, and funds were instead returned to the treasury. New teachers have faced prolonged salary approval delays, worsening financial hardship.

Further grievances include the coercive demand for 'No Objection Certificates' from minority institutions, delayed salary fixation processes, and financial misconduct. Despite repeated complaints, no corrective measures have been undertaken.

Mukund Andhalkar, General Secretary of the Association, said teachers have been forced to escalate their protest, citing long-standing, unresolved grievances. He called for urgent action to restore integrity within the education administration.