MKU teachers stage hunger-strike; demand disbursement of pending salary

Madurai Kamaraj University lecturers stage hunger strike demanding two months pending salary, impacting research and education quality.

Lecturers of Madurai Kamaraj University staged a hunger-strike protest on the university campus here on Wednesday to press their demand to disburse two months pending salary.  

Protesters said, though they had continuously protested in their non-working hours from September 5, 2024, the hunger-strike was to observe Mahatma Gandhi’s principle of non-violence on his birth anniversary.  

Recently, the salary for July month was provided to all the staff of the university— both teaching and non-teaching staff — but still running a family without a single penny for two months was utterly exploitative, they added.  

However, they said they were aware of the difficulties faced by the university to generate revenue as it did two decades ago, but, it was the duty of the government to provide an alternative for the smooth functioning of the university.  

A senior professor said, if it was going to continue in the upcoming months, then the teaching was going to be affected very badly.  

“Already, the prospect of research scholars and research at the university has become a big question mark. The university was known for its excellence in research but the performance of research has badly fallen,” the professor added.  

“The fear now is what if it affects the education of other students too. When the basic education is not given properly to postgraduate student, their prospect in research or any other job is going to be a question mark,” he noted.