Teachers hail decision on pay revision

[sajiv]

KOCHI: The All India Federation of University and College Teachers' Organisations (AIFUCTO) has complimented the Prof. Chadda Committee for recommending uniform and simultaneous implementation of the new University Grants Commission (UGC) pay-scales with effect from January 1, 2006.The federation pointed out that the recommendation for 100 per cent central financial assistance to States for meeting the additional expenditure for the first five years and for bearing 50 per cent of the additional burden for the next five years would remove the hurdles in the implementation of the report by the States.

Welcoming the efforts taken by the committee to link pay review with the requirement of promotion of the quality of education in universities and colleges, Thomas Joseph, president of AIFUCTO, said in a communication that this was done by attracting young men and women to the profession through a scheme of special incentives and retaining experienced teachers in the stream by advancing the age of superannuation.Career advancementThe committee has also provided new avenues for their career advancement, Prof. Joseph said.

The AIFUCTO also welcomed the recommendations for the removal of anomalies in the implementation of the previous pay review report even as it sought greater clarity in the recommendations.Prof. Joseph demanded modifications in the report in respect of the implementation of the new proposals for third promotion and professorship in colleges.He said the stringent conditions put up for third promotion would make the benefit unavailable to a large number of experienced teachers.

The denial of third promotion to a section of college teachers would be unjust, as all other classes of Central and State government employees have a minimum of three assured promotions during their career, Prof. Joseph said. The AIFUCTO also sought modification in the new scheme for instituting professorship in colleges. It wanted professorship to be instituted in both postgraduate and undergraduate departments and incumbents selected on the basis of the same criteria.

Organisation demand: The organisation demanded that the scale of pay of selection grade lecturers be included in pay band four, as was done in the case of comparable scales for Central government employees.It has also demanded that the University Grants Commission and Union Ministry of Human Resources Development approve the report with suggested modifications. The Central and State governments should implement the report uniformly and simultaneously with effect from January 1, 2006.