JOIN USVarsity teachers seek action on pending arrears
Over five lakh teachers of state universities and colleges in the country are waiting to get their pending arrears as per University Grants Commission’s revision of pay scale .
According to the members of All India Federation of University and College Teachers' Organisation (AIFUCTO) the arrears approximately amount to Rs 6-8 lakh per teacher.
The members of AIFUCTO announced on Monday a court arrest programme which starts from March 14 to press their concerns.
According to Tarun Patro, president of AIFUCTO, the University Grants Commission (UGC) had asked the Central and State universities in 2006 to enhance the pay scale of the teaching faculty in all colleges country side.
“While the teachers in the Central government universities and colleges have got their pending arrears as per the pay scale revision in 2006, the teachers of state government universities have not received them till date,” said Patro.
Condition
According to AIFUCTO, the state government cited the Central government’s condition to extend the retirement age of teachers till 65 as the reason for being unable to disburse the arrears.
“The state governments are refusing to abide by this condition as they have to extend the retirement age of all government employees, not just the teachers. If there are differences between the Central and state government policies, then why should we bear the brunt?” added Patro.
The current retirement age is between 58 and 62 years. However, there are six states including Haryana and Tamil Nadu which have paid arrears to their state university’s teachers from their own budget.
“A large number of teachers who have retired will not get their money. The teachers have been denied their legitimate dues for a long time now. The teaching community is feeling disappointed,” said another member.
He added, “For Uttar Pradesh alone the arrears add up to Rs 800 crore. The government is just passing the buck.”
Delinked
The members also met Human Resource Development (HRD) minister Kapil Sibal
on Monday who agreed that the age of retirement and payment of arrears should be delinked.
“Sibal has written to the finance ministry but has not got any response on the matter. He will write to the ministry again. We will hold the court arrest as planned,” said Asok Barman, general secretary, AIFUCTO.
There are 500 state universities and around 30,000 state-run colleges in the country.
A senior official from the HRD minister's office said efforts to address the concerns of teachers are on.