Maharashtra Engineering teachers to get pay commission effect

The Higher and Technical Education Department of the state has finally directed the Directorate of Technical Education (DTE) to follow the recommendations of the sixth pay commission for the salaries of teachers of engineering colleges. A letter to this effect was issued by Mantralaya officials to DTE on Saturday afternoon.

Engineering colleges are hoping that on Monday, DTE will direct its regional offices to get in touch with the respective colleges to sort out the salaries. There are 150 teachers in this category, including nearly 30 teachers from College of Engineering, Pune. In most cases, the arrears run to Rs 8 to Rs 10 lakh per teacher. While the sixth pay commission is effective from 2006 onwards, in 2010 an announcement was made by the All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) saying teachers who have completed a certain refresher programme approved by the AICTE are eligible for a hike. Though it has specified these courses are a criteria only for those teachers who have completed three years of service post 2010, in the state, those who completed three years of service between 2006-10 were also getting the fifth pay commission scale salaries.

Anil Sahasrabudhe, director, CoEP, said, “We wrote to the state government in the first week of April, requesting for a decision at the earliest. On Saturday, a letter was finally issued by the Higher and Technical Education Department.

The order for the engineering colleges has also come on the lines of the polytechnic (diploma) colleges.”

While the state government has agreed to clear the dues of the teachers from diploma colleges, who went on a strike earlier this month, a decision for degree colleges was pending so far.

The same government resolution (GR),dated August 20, 2010, from the Higher and Technical Education Department of the state on the matter governs the degree as well as diploma colleges

“As per the earlier order, issued on March 29, for the diploma colleges, their dues are to be cleared between April 13-15. Now even for engineering colleges, it is to be done by April end, so we're hoping that DTE will now speed up the process and get in touch with the respective colleges,”said a senior faculty member from CoEP.

As per the sixth pay coomission recommendations, teachers in the pay scale of Rs 12,000-18,300 on January 1, 2006 were to be placed in the scale of Rs 37,400-67,000 on the completion of three years of service.

Source : Indian Express