At the annual general meeting (AGM) of WBCUTA held on December 6, a section of teachers under the banner of the Democratic Teachers for Autonomy and Academic Freedom (DTAA) had come out openly criticising the policies of their parent association.

The DTAA members have accused the WBCUTA of not taking up issues concerning the teachers like increasing the retirement age from the present 60 to 65 years with the state government.

On the other hand, the WBCUTA, along with the state government, maintain that in the last one year the state government has come up with 15 orders for salaries, leave encashment and pension benefits for the teachers.

State Higher Education Minister Sudarshan Raychowdhury, a former general secretary of WBCUTA, said most of the demands of the teachers have been met by the government and the latest being leave encashment.

The minister urged the teachers to remain united. The WBCUTA was formed in 1926 and it has more than 9,000 members across 400 colleges in West Bengal. “There is not much left for the state government to do for the teachers,” said Tarun Parta, general secretary of WBCUTA.

According to him, when it comes to an increase in the salary of the teachers, the Centre is shrugging off its responsibility and the burden of paying the salary to the teachers is increasing on thegovernment.

The representatives of WBCUTA, however, irked by the open display of dissent have asked the protesters to join them. “I still feel that there is scope for a discussion. We don’t want to sideline anyone. I would ask them to come and discuss the issues,” said Patra.

Tarun Naskar, DTAA member said: “We are a pressure group inside WBCUTA. We would like to see that the leadership of WBCUTA acts as per the legitimate issues concerning education and rights of teachers.”

According to DTAA, the WBCUTA is only siding with the policies of the government. The DTAA members, however, ruled out any association with the Trinamool Congress.