Srinagar, July 6: The students of Degree College Bemina today held a massive demonstration and staged sit-in on the road against the Government’s failure to break the deadlock with the striking lecturers working on academic arrangements.
 Scores of students took out a protest march and staged a sit-in on the busy Bemina road disrupting the movement of vehicular traffic for about half an hour. “Our studies are getting adversely affected due to the continuous strike as majority of the staff comprises lecturers working on academic arrangements,” the agitated students, shouting slogans against the college authorities, Higher Education department and the Government said, adding these lecturers had been boycotting the classes from June 27.
 “Despite hot weather conditions, hundreds of students from far off places in district Budgam and other adjoining areas come to the college only to return home disappointed as no class work takes place,” the students said, adding many of the students had now decided to stay home during the strike period. 
 The students accused the Government of marring their careers by failing to break the ongoing stalemate. “More than a week has passed and Government hasn’t even made any attempt to hold negotiations with the lecturers to end the strike, which has crippled the functioning of colleges across the Valley,” the students said, adding that if the deadlock prolonged, they wouldn’t be able to complete their syllabi on time and prepare for the final examinations.
 The police officials rushed on the spot and pacified the protesting students, who later dispersed off peacefully. 
 Meanwhile, the premier colleges including-Amar Singh College, SP College, Women College M A Road, Women College Nawa Kadal, Islamia College have also been badly hit due to the strike with less number of students coming to these institutions, reports said.
 The lecturers are boycotting classes in all the colleges seeking fulfillment of their long pending demands including changing of nomenclature from academic arrangement to erstwhile contractual lecturers and teaching assistants, revision of monthly remuneration as per the previous pay revision and strict following of University Grants Commission norms with respect to the giving of four classes per day instead of six. 
 The strike call had been given by the umbrella body of the lecturers Jammu and Kashmir College Contractual Teachers Association (JKCCTA).
 When contacted, Association General Secretary, Izhar-ul-Haq told Greater Kashmir that strike would continue till the Government fulfills their ‘genuine’ demands. “There has to be some policy in place for us. This is sheer exploitation,” he said while referring to the Government order regarding holding of six classes by lecturers working on academic arrangements.
 “Through this order, hundreds of youth in Valley were rendered unemployed as the Higher Education department appointed only 650 lecturers this year, leaving others in lurch,” he said adding the lecturers were also facing tremendous hardships as they were not able to prepare six lectures on a single day to teach the students. “The lecturers were not able to do justice with their job as it was immensely difficult for them to prepare six lectures and subsequently teach the students,” he said.

Lastupdate on : Wed, 6 Jul 2011 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Wed, 6 Jul 2011 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Thu, 7 Jul 2011 00:00:00 IST