Even as interviews for teacher promotions under the Career Advancement Scheme (CAS) are underway across universities and affiliated degree colleges, teacher groups fear that the upcoming municipal elections may lead to their postponement.
Raising this concern, the Maharashtra Union of Secular Teachers (MUST) has written to the chief electoral officer, requesting that CAS interviews be conducted on schedule. These interviews determine promotions to Associate Professor and Professor positions. “Conducting these interviews in the scheduled period is essential to ensure that eligible teachers are not deprived of their due promotions and benefits,” the union wrote in its letter.
According to Dr Vijay Pawar, president of MUST, the CAS process is purely academic, routine, and administrative, governed by UGC norms, and should not be affected by election procedures. “The last time this happened was during the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha elections, when the CAS process was completely stalled. It stunted many teachers’ careers, and we hope that doesn’t repeat now,” Dr Pawar told mid-day.
