Teachers and non-teaching staff of Sinhgad Institute Spring Dale Public School in Abegaon staged a protest outside the school premises on Tuesday over alleged non-payment of salary for several months. A similar protest, later joined by parents, took place last week after the school closed.
Sachin Shinde, member of the Sinhgad Institution Coordination Committee, said He indian express“About 6,000 employees working in various institutes, including engineering institutes, dental colleges, primary and secondary schools and others run by the Sinhgad group, have not been paid salaries for about 36 months.”
“Despite continued academic work, examinations, accreditation responsibilities and compliance duties, management has not released our legitimately earned salaries,” he said.
Shinde said that around 20 months’ salary during the COVID-19 pandemic and the remaining 16 months are pending from 2024. “The management used to credit the basic salary or a part of the salary once every two to three months, so the staff continued working, waiting for the management to fulfill its promise to pay all the dues. However, after repeated follow-ups and broken promises, we had no choice but to protest,” he added.
A bus driver working with Sinhgad Spring Dale School, Ambegaon, who wished to remain anonymous, said, “We have not received our salaries for the last 15 months. We have not paid a single rupee of basic salary, payment of academic marks or legal dues during this entire period.”
“The situation has become unbearable. Many of us are struggling to survive in an expensive city like Pune“, facing financial crisis and emotional anguish,” he added.
Complaints not heard
The bus driver said, “Several complaints have already been made to the authorities, including the Directorate of Technical Education, All India Council for Technical Education, Savitribai Phule Pune University and Pune Labor Department, but no effective action has been taken so far.”
Shinde further alleged that instead of resolving the issue, the management of the Sinhgad institution is threatening teachers and non-teaching staff with dismissal without paying their dues. “That is why we demand that the Chief Minister, the Minister of Education, the Charity Commissioner and the CBSE board intervene and resolve the matter, and the government can take control,” he said.
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In March last year, the Pune Municipal Corporation seized 49 properties of the Sinhgad Educational Institute for property taxes exceeding Rs 200 crore that had been pending for several years.
Parents join the protest
A parent of a class 9 student at Spring Dale School, Ambegaon, said, “We have paid the entire tuition fees of around Rs 47,000, besides the bus fare of Rs 15,000. Even after paying the hard-earned money, the school was abruptly closed due to gross negligence of the administration.”
“First, the administration informed us that the school would be closed due to the Pune Grand Tour event, after which the bus drivers and attendants started the protest. Then the teachers joined in and we had no choice but to support them for a safe future for our children,” the parents said.
“We demand that the management pay the fees of teachers and non-teaching staff so that they can return to work, ensuring that students do not feel lost,” the father added.
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On Tuesday evening, parents received a message from the administration assuring them that the school would resume normal functioning and teaching and non-teaching staff would receive their pending salaries. Management also assured that these problems would not occur again.
The Indian Express He tried to contact MN Navale, founder president of the Pune-based Sinhgad Technical Education Society (STES), but did not receive a response. State School Education Minister Dada Bhuse told reporters on Tuesday night that the department would look into the issue with Sinhagad Institutes.