An assistant professor at a university in Bihar expresses his dismay at students not attending his classes and has returned his total earnings for more than two years, which amounts to almost Rs 24 lakh. Lalan Kumar has been teaching as an assistant professor at Nitisheshwar College in Muzaffarpur, Bihar since September 2019. However, according to Kumar, the college’s students have not shown up since he joined, a leading daily news reported.
He has now decided to repay his earnings of 33 months. “My conscience won’t allow me to take a salary without teaching,” Kumar said. He stressed that during the pandemic, students did not even bother to attend the online Hindi classes. “If I get a salary for five years without teaching, it would be academic death for me,” Kumar added.
Kumar reportedly handed over a check of Rs 23,82,228 to the Registrar of BR Ambedkar Bihar University (BRABU) to which Nitisheshwar College is affiliated. This was Kumar’s first job and, according to him, he has never seen a teaching environment at the university since he joined. Kumar said his inner voice encouraged him to take the step and return his salary to the university.
While Kumar cited morality for returning his earnings as an assistant professor, the university’s head Manoj Kumar suspected an ulterior motive behind the move. He said student absenteeism was not the only reason Kumar made the move, but that it was “a pressure tactic to get a transfer to a postgraduate department.”
Meanwhile, BRABU registrar RK Thakur supported the professor and praised his decision to refund the salary. He acknowledged that Kumar was doing something unusual that deserves immediate attention. Thakur told The Indian Express that the matter is being discussed with the vice chancellor and the principal of Nitisheshwar College will soon be asked for an explanation behind the low turnout in classes.
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