Teachers protest to keep school running

CHENNAI: Teaching and non-teaching staff of Sir M Ct M Boys Higher Secondary School, a government-aided school in Purasawalkam, refused to go to class on Monday, protesting against the alleged harassment meted out to them by the school management. The 120-year-old school, they said, was planning to close down and give way to a commercial complex, for which it was trying to drive away teachers and students.
On Monday, 50 staff members gathered on the school campus holding placards. Police personnel watched from outside. Staff representatives said they would continue the sit-in protest till school education department officials met their demand.
"The management has been harassing teachers over the last three months, issuing memos and ordering suspension of teachers for no reason. Last week the school management issued a memo to the assistant headmaster also for a flimsy reason,'' said V Govindarajan, president of the Sir M Ct M teaching and non-teaching staff associaton.
The teachers claimed two of the staff members, who were suspended in early December 2011 and had consequently secured an interim stay order from the high court later that month, were not paid their monthly salaries for the last couple of months. "The management refuses to give our reinstatement order,'' secretary of the association C J Gnanasekaran said.
The faculty members accused the management of trying to close down school to raise a commercial building on the campus. They said the school, which provided education to nearly 2,000 children from middle and lower income groups, refuses to fill 17 teaching vacancies over the last five years. "They don’t allow the children to use the playground, and use three of the classrooms for other purposes,'' Govindarajan said.
Management representatives were unavailable for comment. A board placed on the school compound wall offered some explanation. Addressing parents, the board said, "The management of the school has no intention of closing the school and constructing a business complex.'' The management has also refuted the claim that students were not allowed to use the playground. "Your children’s education is important for us and you. Advise students not to indulge in any activities other than education,'' the board read.
In little more than two weeks, around 245 class 12 students and 420 class 10 students are to take their board exams.