Engg colleges in a fix over AICTE salary hike

The new pay scale announced by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) annoyed the private engineering college managements in the state. The state government had recently allowed these colleges to hike the fee by 10%.

A week before revising the fee, the affiliation body had fixed the entry level salary of an assistant professor to Rs 57,000.

The latest notification by the AICTE has fixed the new pay structure for teaching and non-teaching faculties in the technical and diploma education institutions. It also imposed a salary ceiling of Rs 1.80 lakh for senior professors, and the revised pay scale is to be implemented retrospectively from January 1, 2016.

Panduranga Setty, president of Karnataka Unaided Private Engineering Colleges Association, said the pay hike is an additional burden for the management.

“The recent fee hike and the new pay fixation by AICTE do not make any difference. In fact, the hike will be an additional burden for many colleges, particularly, the small and new institutions. The entry level salary of Rs 57,000 is higher than the annual fee collected from a student under government quota in private colleges,” Setty told DH.

Many colleges had planned to develop more infrastructure in the college with the 10% fee hike. Requesting anonymity, the president of private engineering college said, “AICTE has also ordered to establish incubation centres in our colleges . But, it is difficult to comply with the directive given the hike in salaries. We also have to focus on maintaining the quality of education and provide training for the faculty. The big pay hike has become a burden for our institution.”

When asked if they would approach government for another round of revision, Panduranga Setty said they cannot do so at this juncture.

“We have to keep students and parents in mind. For now we have to focus on curriculum. Many colleges are planning their financial year ahead. So we will not approach the government for another round of revision,” he said.

The AICTE has directed the technical universities and diploma colleges to constitute a selection committee for the direct recruitment of assistant professors, associate professors and professors.