Guest faculty paid less than daily wage labourers: Association

Association of Concerned and Informed Citizens of Mysore (ACICM) convener M Lakshmana has written a letter to Law Minister T B Jayachandra, also minister for higher education, to resolve the long-pending demands of guest faculty in the State.

In his letter to the minister, Lakshmana has stated that about 14,000 guest faculty with added qualifications like M Phil/PhD along with Karnataka State Eligibility Test (KSET) and National Eligibility Test (NET) certificates had been working as part-time or guest faculty for a meagre pay of Rs 3,000 per month, worse than daily wage labourers.

“The irony is, they work only for a period of eight to nine months. Those who have crossed the age limit (fixed for guest faculty) have been left to fend for themselves. The Union Ministry of Human Resource Development and the State government should understand that some of them have been working since 1996, drawing a maximum pay of Rs 9,500. It would be helpful, if the policy adopted in Kerala and Punjab are adopted in Karnataka also. If it happens, guest faculty can be assured of Rs 25,000 per month,” he has stated.

‘Legal issues’

The higher education department in the State has been citing legal issues as reason, for regularising their service. It’s high time the policies are amended like in other departments to help the needy, the letter states.

The on-going recruitment through Karnataka Examination Authority should also be postponed until there is an amendment to the policy related to recruitment of guest faculty, he has stated.