Gujarat Professors unhappy with revised salary structure

The salaries that have been declared by the government have left professors and other teaching staff disappointed. Professors, readers and lecturers claim that this is for the first time that the state government has not accepted the pay scale laid down by UGC and given a pay structure themselves.
State education department on Tuesday declared the salary structure approved by the state government as per pay commission recommendation. The salaries that have been declared by the govt. have left professors and other teaching staff disappointed.

The revised salaries are for the staff of the state universities, government colleges, private colleges, grant-in-aid colleges. The group would also include the librarian and physical education teachers.

Lecturers and professors claim that non-compliance with the UGC scale will bring a difference of close to Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000. "The lecturer and professor community is very disappointed and taken aback by this decision. UGC was even ready to share up to 80 per cent of the burden of salaries. The state government has yet again proved how the teaching fraternity is the least cared for in the state," said a disappointed lecturer.

Another professor added, "If the state government does not bring any revision in this suggested pay structure, the university and college teaching staff may take some strong measures and even protest against it".

Source : Times of India.

Teachers planning to agitate
Dreaming of a hefty hike and making plans for Diwali, over 15,000 disappointed teaching staff in 1,000 colleges in the state are furious and planning to agitate. “This decision is not acceptable to us. Professors, readers and lecturers stand to lose anything between Rs 1.2 lakh to Rs 3 lakh annually, owing to non-implementation of the UGC’s version of the Sixth Pay Commission,” said KS Shastri, president of Gujarat State Teachers’ Federation (GSTF) and former vice-chancellor of Gujarat University.

The issue is likely to snowball into a state-wide agitation, throwing college academics out of gear. Members of GSTF will meet on Thursday to decide how to effectively and aggressively to put their point across.

Till date, the state government had implemented all the five pay commissions as per directions of a committee set up by the UGC. This is the first time that the state government has devised its own pay scale.

The GR effectively said that instead of UGC pay commission’s norms, Gujarat government’s norms would be implemented. Shastri added: “This is not acceptable to us. Till the GR is scrapped and UGC’s recommendations are implemented in letter and spirit our agitation shall continue.”

Secretary of the GSTF Devendra Solanki said: “The UGC’s grant covers 80 per cent of the expenditure incurred in paying college and university teachers. Only 20 per cent is state government’s responsibility. Gujarat government’s financial status is sound, then why this miserly approach?”

“Since July the state government has been assuring us of issuing a GR for implementation of the UGC scale. But, they have gone back on their word. This government has meted out step-motherly treatment to education. Ironically, the same government on the other hand makes a lot of noise about providing quality education to the state,” said president of Gujarat University Teachers’ Association RS Patel.