Telangana Intermediate Board summoned by Human Rights Commission

Hyderabad: The Telangana Human Rights Commission (THRC) has issued a notice of summons to Secretary of Telangana State Board of Intermediate Education, Syed Jaleel, taking action on a complaint regarding problems faced by lecturers in the state, reports The News Minute. The notice directed the addressee to report before the commission by September 20.

Earlier, the complainant Santhosh Kumar, state president of Telangana School's Technical College's Employees Association, had sought the THRC's intervention into lecturers' problems. The THRC had issued notices to the Sri Chaitanya and Narayana inter-colleges and to the commissioner of Telangana State Board of Intermediate Education (TSBIE) to appear before THRC by September 20. The intermediate board was also directed to appear before the court and submit a report of action taken.

Santhosh Kumar told The News Minute that the pandemic induced lockdown has resulted in laying off several lecturers from corporate colleges. Most of them were not paid for the period they worked and have faced an abrupt removal, and many of them are still without work, he said.

According to Santhosh, with unemployment and unpaid for their work, lecturers resorted to strike on July 14 with the support of several students' organisations in Hyderabad. But they were allegedly assaulted by the police, which is also included in his complaint, with video footage of the assault, to THRC.

He added that though several corporate colleges are collecting fees from their students, they are not paying their employees. With the online mode of teaching, colleges are managing with less staff, resulting in about 80-90 per cent of employees losing jobs and struggling to survive with their families, he said.