Baramulla, May 4: Class work at the Saint Joseph’s Higher Secondary School, Baramulla in north Kashmir has been suspended for nearly a week amid a strike by the staff over salary hike putting career of hundreds of students at stake.
Sources at the school told Greater Kashmir that there has been no class work for students from kindergarten to higher secondary level since Saturday as teachers and non-teaching staff are on strike to protest against the school administration over a hike in their salaries besides other demands.
A teacher at the school said that the management had been denying them the 6% annual hike in their salaries since the COVID-19 outbreak with the school administration recently announcing only a nominal hike, which is unacceptable to the staff.
The teachers also complained that the administration had also withheld the arrears to them. They alleged that the school principal is evading responsibility by “deliberately being out of station”.
There seems to be no end to the deadlock in sight with the school administration now extending the Eid holidays for students amid the strike by the staff.
A notice issued by Vice Principal at St Joseph’s Baramulla, Sr Shubha has asked parents to keep their wards away from the school till further orders.
“It is with a heavy heart that I have to inform you about suspension of regular academic activities for your ward in the School. We apprehend disruption of classes by outside vested interests which could put at risk the safety and security of our students in the campus,” reads the notice.
It said the school management “maintains full faith in the capabilities of their employees but would not like to put the well-being, safely and security of students at risk”.
“I understand that loss in academic activities means a lot at these difficult times especially as we limb back to normalcy from all disruptions,” the Vice Principal said.
“However, I hope good sense prevails and we are able to commence regular academics at the earliest,” she added.Terming the suspension of regular class work unfortunate, the school management has asked the parents to “treat the ongoing suspension of classwork as an extension of Eid holidays”.