Students continue to suffer, lecturer strike enter 5th day

Srinagar: Students across the Kashmir valley continued to suffer as strike by contractual lecturers entered the 5th day today.
It was violence, killings and arson last summer and this year it is the strike by the contractual lecturers, alleged the students who had come from far flung and remote areas to attend their colleges.
About 650 contractual lecturers have been on indefinite strike since Monday, demanding revocation of the nomenclature, terming them academic arrangement lecturers and teaching assistants instead of contractual lecturers, in addition to monthly stipends equivalent to the basic salary of the post on which they are serving and an end to new norm of six classes per day.
A Baramulla report said contractual lecturers, who were present in the colleges in north Kashmir, refused to attend classes.
Some students of Government Degree College (GDC) Baramulla, who had come from far flung and remote areas, said that they had spent more than Rs 100 daily to attend the college. But it goes in vain because of the strike.
Last year it was strike, curfew and violence which had badly affected the students, they said adding now it is the strike by lecturers.
Ghulam Rasool, a student of final year criticised the government for failing to reach any agreement with the striking lecturers.
He said it is these contractual lecturers who are actually are conducting classes while the seniors who are drawing thousands of rupees as salaries never attend classes.
Similar views were expressed by students of Government Women college Nawa Kadal and Moulana Azad Road.
Students alleged that despite repeated complaints to principals no action was being taken against senior lecturers, who refused to attend classes.
A delegation of College Contractual Teachers Association has left for New Delhi to meet Union Human Resources and Development Minister Kapil Sibal and others today or tomorrow.
Meanwhile, concerned over the loss of time by students due to indefinite strike by these lecturers, the Communist Party of India (M) today asked government to open a channel of dialogue with them immediately.
The state secretary of the CPI(M) Mohammad Yousuf Targami said the students of the Valley suffered because of unrest and this year it is the strike.
He urged the government to initiate negotiations with the representatives of the contractual lecturers who are on strike in favour of their demands.
He said prolongation of strike would have adverse implications on the class work of students.
Maintaining that such issues are best sorted out through mutual dialogue, Mr Tarigami urged the government to be responsive to the genuine concerns and bring their union leaders on the negotiation table for amicable settlement of their demands.
He said shedding off responsibilities by either sides was against the public interests and suggested both to come on negotiation table to sort out the issues.
The contractual lecturers are on strike for the past one week.