Mumbai: More than 1,000 teachers declared surplus by the state govt are yet to receive their March salaries or be assigned new postings, as delays in the staff adjustment process spill into the new academic year, triggering widespread anxiety and anger.Under the redeployment mechanism, surplus teachers are to be reassigned to schools with vacancies through district- and division-level rounds. However, missed deadlines and administrative lag have left the process incomplete, with many teachers in limbo weeks after timelines lapsed.In a letter to education minister Dada Bhuse, Maharashtra State Teachers Council member Shivnath Darade said, “More than 1,000 teachers have been declared surplus, causing severe distress.”A govt circular dated Feb 4 had set March 3 and March 25 as deadlines for district- and divisional-level adjustments, respectively, but both have been missed. “The process is still underway and will be completed within April. All teachers will be adjusted and accommodated somewhere or the other,” said Rajesh Knakal, deputy director of education (Mumbai zone).The situation has been aggravated by issues on the Shalarth portal, where the removal of the “authorization tab” has stalled salary bill submissions.In a letter to chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, Maharashtra Progressive Teachers’ Union state president Tanaji Kamble warned that teachers should not be made to suffer due to administrative lapses and said protests would follow if pending salaries and arrears are not cleared soon.
