Mumbai: Junior college teachers from across the Mumbai Division—including Mumbai, Mumbai Suburban, Thane, Raigad, and Palghar districts—will hold a protest march today, starting from Vashi Station and ending with the submission of a memorandum to the Chairperson of the Mumbai Divisional Education Board.
The protest, organised by the Mumbai Divisional Junior College Teachers’ Association, seeks to draw attention to a series of alleged irregularities, persistent delays, and systemic corruption within the office of the Deputy Director of Education, Mumbai.
Among the teachers’ primary grievances are violations of the Maharashtra State’s service regulations for teaching and non-teaching staff, miscalculations in workload assessments, and inaccurate accounting of student numbers, which have led to reductions in sanctioned teaching positions. These errors, according to the association, have directly impacted teacher appointments, service security, and timely salary payments.
Despite repeated appeals and directives from higher authorities, many issues remain unresolved, some for several years. Teachers report that salary arrears continue to be withheld, even when financial allocations are made at the end of the fiscal year. In several instances, unutilised funds have reportedly been returned to the state treasury instead of being disbursed to educators.
Further concerns include the delayed approval of teaching appointments, arbitrary requirements for No Objection Certificates (NOCs) in minority-run institutions, and the alleged misuse of authority leading to the dismissal of in-service teachers to facilitate new appointments. There are also widespread complaints of corruption during the salary fixation process, particularly in the cases of senior and selection-grade teachers.
In a letter issued prior to the planned protest, Sandeep Sangave, Deputy Director of Education urged the association to withdraw the march, stating that reforms were being undertaken, including revisions to flawed sanctioning norms and disciplinary action against non-performing staff. However, Sangave is currently on leave, and discussions held with Sunil Sawant, Assistant Director of Education have yet to yield tangible outcomes informed the teachers. No corrected post-sanctioning orders have been issued to date.
While the association had initially intended to observe a mass casual leave on the day of the protest, it has since decided against doing so, citing potential disruption to students’ ongoing examinations and results. The march will therefore proceed without any interruption to academic duties.
The memorandum to be submitted includes five primary demands: a comprehensive inquiry into the functioning of the Deputy Director’s office, immediate approval of pending appointments, rectification of flawed post-sanctioning orders, prompt clearance of all outstanding salary dues, and the assurance of timely monthly salary disbursement across all districts.
As tensions mount, the association has warned that failure to act on these demands could lead to intensified agitation in the coming months. For now, the teachers are hoping that their peaceful protest will compel the authorities to finally take meaningful action.
