Can you ever imagine returning a salary of over Rs 24 lakh? That’s exactly what Lallan Kumar, an assistant professor at Nitishwar College in Bihar’s Muzaffarpur has done.
The professor surrendered his salary of nearly Rs 24 lakh as a mark of protest since no student had turned up for his classes. “My conscience does not allow me to take a salary without teaching,” Kumar told the media on Wednesday.
Let’s take a closer look at his demands.
Who is Professor Lallan Kumar?
Lallan Kumar is an assistant professor of Hindi at Nitishwar College in Bihar’s Muzaffarpur, which is affiliated under BR Ambedkar Bihar University.
Kumar completed his Masters in Hindi from Jawaharlal Nehru University and received his PhD and MPhil from Delhi University.
According to a Mint report, he had applied for a post in the postgraduate department to be “more involved” in academics.
He claims that he has never seen any environment of education in the college, ever since he joined. “I heard my inner voice and decided to return my salary for two years and nine months to the university,” he said in an Indian Express report.
What is he protesting against?
Kumar, 33, returned a cheque of Rs 23,82,228 — which he earned since 2019 — to the registrar of BR Ambedkar Bihar University on Tuesday saying, “There’s no one to teach, so what’s the salary for?”
“Even during online classes (during the COVID-19 pandemic), there were only a handful of students present for Hindi classes. If I take a salary without teaching for five years, it would be academic death for me,” he was quoted as saying to the media.
He further added that he had been trying to apply to teach postgraduate classes but alleges that his name was dropped from the transfer list several times. “When I’d joined, I was not posted to a college where I could teach postgraduate classes. Those with lower ranks (in the selection process) got those postings. Here, the students never show up,” he said as per an NDTV report.
‘Claims have no basis’
Nitishwar College has around 3,000 students. Out of these approximately 1,110 undergraduates have to study Hindi as a part of their course. Lallan Kumar is the only regular Hindi teacher in the college apart from a guest lecturer for the subject.
Manoj Kumar, the principal of the college said that Kumar’s claim of zero-attendance has no basis. “For two years, classes were disrupted due to the coronavirus pandemic. Lallan Kumar should’ve told me directly if he wanted a transfer,” he argued.
Manoj Kumar further commented on Lallan Kumar’s move to return his 33-month salary. He said, “The world was hit by the coronavirus pandemic a few months after Lallan Kumar joined the college and since then the college conducted online classes.”
The University’s registrar told Indian Express that they are discussing the matter with the vice-chancellor and would soon ask the principal of Nitishwar College to explain absenteeism.
Is absenteeism an issue in India?
The pandemic forced educational institutions in India to switch to online mode of learning. However, once the process of unlock began in the country, in an effort to bridge the learning gap, most schools and colleges decided to resume offline classes.
But the turn-up hasn’t been impressive ever since.
According to a Times of India report, as on March 2022, higher educational institutes in Dehradun recorded attendance as low as 50 per cent.
In Kolkata, many colleges sought explanation from students for not attending in-person classes and asked them to submit “relevant documents” to substantiate their reasons. The move came after students did not turn up for offline classes when colleges reopened this year in March.
Recording extremely low attendance, schools in Bhopal switched back to online classes soon after reopening schools in February, according to another report on Times of India. (MSN)
