Disgruntled Bihar college teacher seeks to return Rs 23.82 lakh earned as salary
Muzaffarpur (PTI): A young academician in Bihar is hogging limelight for having sought to return a sum of over Rs 20 lakh that he had earned towards salary and other emoluments in the last two years and nine months.
Lalan Kumar, 33, who teaches Hindi literature at a college under the Baba Saheb Bhim Rao Ambedkar Bihar University here, insisted that he took the drastic step because of the "abysmal attendance" of students at his college.
The varsity's pro-Vice Chancellor R K Thakur, however, said that he has refused to accept the cheque of Rs 23.82 lakh underscoring that there is no provision under which he could allow the seemingly idealistic move.
I cannot put authorities on a gunpoint to accept the money. I wanted to make the point that if I am not able to do teaching work, I have no right to draw salary. I think I have expressed my sentiment effectively enough , said Kumar, who got appointed as an Assistant Professor in 2019 after cracking an exam conducted by the BPSC.
Kumar said he was disappointed at the outset since he was assigned one of the less fancied colleges in this north Bihar town despite having been among the top 20 rankers .
He said he was pained to see that many who had fared worse than he did, got assignments at the varsity's PG department.
I did not get a chance despite an impressive academic career. I have been an alumnus of the esteemed Hindu College affiliated to Delhi University. I have also done my PG at JNU, Kumar said.
Thakur admitted to have received a number of applications in the past from Kumar who has sought a transfer to a better college if an assignment with the PG classes was out of question.
His request could have been looked into but for the fact that the committee on transfers has not met in the past couple of years because of the COVID 19 pandemic. It is, however, surprising that never before did Lalan Kumar raise the issue of students not turning up for classes , said the pro-VC.
Hinting that he took the young assistant professor's allegation with a pinch of salt, Thakur however said the principal of his college has been asked to send his remarks. We can take any action only if he confirms what a teacher at his college is saying .
Manoj Kumar, the college principal, is understandably, annoyed. He points out that he came to know about Lalan Kumar taking the dramatic step through the media.
If he felt so stifled in the college, he should have had a word with me. He contacted the pro-VC directly, handed over the cheque and I learned about the whole episode from newspaper reports, the principal rued.
He also said that he was aware of Lalan Kumar's desire to offer his services at a place better suited to his tastes, but dismisses the allegation that hardly any student turns up at Nitishwar Singh college.
There are hundreds of students who study Hindi at our college, either as the main subject or as a subsidiary. It is simply impossible for any teacher not to have sufficient students to teach. Even during the pandemic, academic work continued online, the principal said.
Meanwhile, many in the academic circles frown upon what they see as blackmail tactics by Lalan Kumar to have his way and apprehend that if entertained it might set a precedent.
There are, indeed, signs that more disgruntled elements might take a cue from Lalan Kumar and choose similar headline-hunting ways.
The varsity administration has confirmed that Arun Kumar, who teaches at the same college, has written to the pro-VC making a similar offer to return his salary for the past many months.
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
