Junior college teachers from Latur, Nanded and Dharashiv staged a sit-in protest in Latur against Maharashtra’s proposed new staffing approval norms. The teachers’ association said the draft rules would increase practical batch sizes and reduce class duration, affecting teaching quality and potentially leading to loss of 8,000 to 10,000 teaching posts across the state.

Latur, Jun 24: Junior college teachers staged a sit-in protest in Latur city of Maharashtra on Wednesday against the state government's proposed new staffing approval norms.

Junior college teachers from Latur, Nanded and Dharashiv districts took part in the protest organised by the Latur Divisional Junior College Teachers' Association.

The protesters alleged that the draft staffing norms released by the Directorate of Education on May 27 are arbitrary, wrong and detrimental to both students and teachers.

The protesting teachers said the staffing approvals should continue under the existing system, arguing that the current framework has been developed over decades by education experts while taking into account regional, geographical and social factors. They contended that the proposed changes would adversely affect the quality of education and deprive thousands of students of learning opportunities.