Teachers’ Associations of Primary, Secondary, PU and Degree Colleges in the State have threatened to launch an agitation from February 26 and even close down the colleges, if their demands, including withdrawing the rule making BEd mandatory for fresh PU lecturers, were not fulfilled immediately.

A decision to this effect was taken at a meeting of MLCs at the Legislatures’ Home in Bangalore on Wednesday.
Former minister Basavaraj Horatti chaired the meeting, attended by 11 MLCs. Later, the MLCs submitted a memorandum of 23 demands to Governor Rameshwar Thakur.

The demands also included priority to Kannada medium students in PU college lecturer recruitments, releasing salaries to all categories of teachers regularly and on time, extending service security to teaching and non-teaching staff members of unaided institutions, regularising the services of those who served for more than 10 years in JOC colleges and postponing KES exams.

Mr Horatti later told mediapersons that the rule to make BEd compulsory for fresh PU lecturers should not be implemented till a popular government assumed power in the State. The Central government had passed an order in 2003, making BEd compulsory for PU lecturers. But, the previous governments in the State did not implement the rule as they felt it was an unscientific decision.