A fed-up professor has handed more than two years’ salary back to his employers because none of his students bother to turn up for classes.
Lallan Kumar, who works as an assistant professor of Hindi language at the Nitishwar college in Bihar, India, reportedly gave back the money – equivalent to 33 months’ worth of pay – stating that ‘there’s no one to teach, so what’s the salary for?’.
Now, while being paid to do nothing sounds like a dream to some people, poor Professor Kumar has been left feeling rather down about the situation, and is hoping to get a transfer to another college.
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He told Times Now: "My conscience does not allow me to take a salary without teaching. Even during online classes [during the pandemic], there were only a handful of students present for Hindi classes.”
He added: “If I take a salary without teaching for five years, it would be academic death for me.”
According to local reports, the offer of his Rs 23,80,000 (£25,108) returned salary has been rejected by the college.
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The college also maintains that his claims aren’t accurate and says that due to the Covid-19 outbreak classes have not been taken offline.
Speaking on NDTV, he said: “When I’d joined, I was not posted to a college where I could teach postgraduate classes. Those with lower ranks [in the selection process] got those postings. Here, the students never show up.”
Kumar also says his name has been left off the transfer list on more than one occasion and has threatened a ‘sit-in protest’ if his demands are not met.
However Manoj Kumar, principal of the college, has shut down the claims made by Kumar.
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He told NDTV that the allegations that Kumar’s classes had a zero attendance rate are baseless and that the issues had stemmed from the pandemic.
He said: “For two years, classes were disrupted due to the coronavirus pandemic.”
He went on to say that the professor should have reached out to him directly if he wanted a transfer.
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RK Thakur, Vice-Chancellor of Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar Bihar University, which the college is part of, said it will look into claims from Kumar of non-attendance from students.
He added: “Professor Lallan Kumar is upset regarding his transfer demand. He has given us a cheque but we have not accepted it.”
Topics: World News, Weird
Claire Reid