College teachers oppose shifting of office

BANGALORE: College teachers are all set to wear black badges, as a mark of protest, against the proposed move to shift the office of the Directorate of Collegiate Education to a nondescript building in Shivaji Nagar.Backing this protest is the 7,500-member Karnataka Government College Teachers Association (KGCTA), while other associations including non-teaching staff too have pledged their support. KGCTA president Dr H Prakash said that moving the directorate to an old building in Shivaji Nagar from its current premises on Sheshadri Road will mean teachers having to travel very far and added that the association too had its officers within the premises.“Earlier the Government moved the joint director of Directorate of Education’s office, which was situated adjacent to Freedom Park, on Sheshadri Road, to make way for a club house for Railways Department. When we protested, the education department and the Government told us that a new corporate structure will house the offices and the move is temporary. The proposal for the building is yet to materialise,” Dr Prakash said.‘Step-motherly treatment’Following this breach of trust, the teachers are in no mood to give in to the demand this time, even as the State Government is considering a proposal to build another office on Sheshadri Road.The teachers said that even if the proposal does get approved, the building cannot be constructed overnight and even for a temporary duration they will not move out of their offices.  The teachers also said that they should not be meted with step-motherly treatment by the government.The association has also requested their units in various colleges to hand over written representations to their regional MLAs and Tahsildars to give momentum to their protest.Meanwhile, the members of Karnataka Government College Teachers Association are participating in a rally in New Delhi on August 26 protesting against non-clearance of arrears following wage revision.