UGC scale for Karnataka teachers, retirement age raised to 62 years.

The pay revision along the lines of the Sixth Pay Commission recommendations will benefit an estimated 18,630 university and college teachers. The beneficiaries of the retirement age enhancement will, however, be much less.

Announcing the Cabinet decisions, Home Minister V S Acharya said the revised pay scales for teachers would be implemented with retrospective effect from January 1, 2006.

The hike for teachers will range between Rs 10,000 and Rs 35,000 per month depending on the seniority and the positions they hold. The Cabinet also met the long-pending demands of junior doctors, who had threatened to go on indefinite strike.

Nearly 4,000 doctors are employed with the health department. The Cabinet approved allowances between Rs 4,000 and Rs 12,500 a month for the government doctors.

The hike for doctors (ranging between Rs 3,000 and Rs 8,000 per month) would be with immediate effect. The decision to hike the pay scale of university/college teachers is in line with the UGC-constituted Chaddha Committee recommendation.

The Chaddha committee had recommendations implementation of the revised UGC scales for college teachers. According to education department sources, a total of 18,630 lecturers, including 6,740 faculty members in government colleges, 9,650 in private aided colleges and 2,360 in university colleges, will benefit from the decision.

The teachers’ wage bill for the government will shoot up from the present Rs 590 crore to Rs 815 crore per annum, sources added. The Centre will bear 80 per cent of the revised salary bill from January 1, 2006 to March 2010. Later on, the State Government will have to foot the entire bill.

Acharya said the arrears of Rs 954 crore would have to be paid as the difference for a period of 51 months from January 1, 2006, to March 31, 2010. The Union Government will bear 80 per cent (Rs 763 crore) of the salary bill, and the remaining 20 per cent (Rs 191 crore) will be borne by the State Government from January 1,
2006, to March 2010. The date of release of the first instalment of arrears as well as the revised salary will be announced later.

Source : Deccan Herald.