<p>A PU teacher in Karnataka is paid a basic salary of Rs 11,400 per month and takes home Rs 21,900 (including emoluments and an Interim Relief of 15 percent). The salaries are as per the 5th Pay Commission. <br /><br />In contrast, a PU teacher takes home a monthly salary of Rs 22,379 in Maharashtra, Rs 22,171 in Tamil Nadu (both 6th Pay Commission), Rs 25,693 in Andhra Pradesh and Rs 19,572 in Kerala (both 9th Pay Commission). <br /><br />It was wrong to say that PU lecturers in the State were paid peanuts compared to what their peers in the neighbouring states got, Rashmi V Mahesh, Director, DPUE, said. <br /><br />“The salaries in Karnataka are impressive given that they are as per the 5th Pay Commission. They are bound to increase considerably when the 6th Pay Commission is implemented next year,” Rashmi told Deccan Herald. <br /><br />As for the teachers’ claim that their peers in degree colleges are paid much higher salaries, Rashmi said it was incorrect to compare the two. First, degree college teachers are more qualified with many of them being post-graduates. Second, they write such examinations as the National Eligibility Test (NET). Third, degree college teachers come under universities and hence are paid as per the University Grants Commission (UGC) scale. <br /><br />“There is no match between the resources of the Centre and a State government,” Rashmi said. <br /><br />The DPUE Director also disputed the protesters’ claim that the strike was “quite successful”. According to her, about 90 percent of the 8,000 teachers in 1,202 government PU colleges have joined the strike whereas only about 40 percent of the 5,000-odd lecturers in aided institutes struck work. Very few teachers in the 1,800 unaided colleges joined the strike, she claimed. <br /><br />As for the protesters’ contention that teachers at the PU and degree levels were paid the same salary till a few years ago, Rashmi said that the case pertained to only about 1,300 principals who were due to retire shortly. <br /><br />‘Inopportune time’ <br /><br />Meanwhile, students continue to suffer as teachers have refused to budge. The strike has come at a particular “inopportune time” as colleges have to send within 10 days the fee list of II PU students for the board examination. The list is crucial for the DPUE to generate hall tickets. The Karnataka State Pre-University College Lecturers’ Association (KSPUCLA) reiterated that the strike would go on indefinitely till at least December 14, 2011, when a rally will be taken out in Bangalore. <br /><br />“We are determined to keep the agitation on till the government accepts our demands. We are not going to be betrayed any more,” Shakeel Ahmad, General Secretary, KSPUCLA, said. <br /><br />Ahmad also said that the government was “threatening” to curtail the agitation. <br /><br />“Many of us are being warned of suspension and forfeiture of salaries if the strike is not withdrawn,” he said. <br /></p>
<p>A PU teacher in Karnataka is paid a basic salary of Rs 11,400 per month and takes home Rs 21,900 (including emoluments and an Interim Relief of 15 percent). The salaries are as per the 5th Pay Commission. <br /><br />In contrast, a PU teacher takes home a monthly salary of Rs 22,379 in Maharashtra, Rs 22,171 in Tamil Nadu (both 6th Pay Commission), Rs 25,693 in Andhra Pradesh and Rs 19,572 in Kerala (both 9th Pay Commission). <br /><br />It was wrong to say that PU lecturers in the State were paid peanuts compared to what their peers in the neighbouring states got, Rashmi V Mahesh, Director, DPUE, said. <br /><br />“The salaries in Karnataka are impressive given that they are as per the 5th Pay Commission. They are bound to increase considerably when the 6th Pay Commission is implemented next year,” Rashmi told Deccan Herald. <br /><br />As for the teachers’ claim that their peers in degree colleges are paid much higher salaries, Rashmi said it was incorrect to compare the two. First, degree college teachers are more qualified with many of them being post-graduates. Second, they write such examinations as the National Eligibility Test (NET). Third, degree college teachers come under universities and hence are paid as per the University Grants Commission (UGC) scale. <br /><br />“There is no match between the resources of the Centre and a State government,” Rashmi said. <br /><br />The DPUE Director also disputed the protesters’ claim that the strike was “quite successful”. According to her, about 90 percent of the 8,000 teachers in 1,202 government PU colleges have joined the strike whereas only about 40 percent of the 5,000-odd lecturers in aided institutes struck work. Very few teachers in the 1,800 unaided colleges joined the strike, she claimed. <br /><br />As for the protesters’ contention that teachers at the PU and degree levels were paid the same salary till a few years ago, Rashmi said that the case pertained to only about 1,300 principals who were due to retire shortly. <br /><br />‘Inopportune time’ <br /><br />Meanwhile, students continue to suffer as teachers have refused to budge. The strike has come at a particular “inopportune time” as colleges have to send within 10 days the fee list of II PU students for the board examination. The list is crucial for the DPUE to generate hall tickets. The Karnataka State Pre-University College Lecturers’ Association (KSPUCLA) reiterated that the strike would go on indefinitely till at least December 14, 2011, when a rally will be taken out in Bangalore. <br /><br />“We are determined to keep the agitation on till the government accepts our demands. We are not going to be betrayed any more,” Shakeel Ahmad, General Secretary, KSPUCLA, said. <br /><br />Ahmad also said that the government was “threatening” to curtail the agitation. <br /><br />“Many of us are being warned of suspension and forfeiture of salaries if the strike is not withdrawn,” he said. <br /></p>
