News

UGC 7^th Pay Review Committee

Regional workshop

Venue: University of Madras, Chennai

Date: 19^th August 2016

MEMORONDUM

Esteemed Chairman and Members of the PRC,

            The Association of Mangalore University College Teachers ®, AMUCT is a registered organisation of college teachers under Mangalore University. It is affiliated to the Federation of University and College Teachers Associations in Karnataka (FUCTAK) at the state level and to the All India Federation of University and College Teachers Organisations (AIFUCTO) at the national level. We fully endorse the submissions made by the AIFUCTO before the Hon’ble Commission.

            Mangalore University covering the three districts of Karnataka state, Dakshina Kannada, Udupi and Kodagu, is known for standard higher education institutions. Teachers have played a greater role in providing quality education. Teachers’ organisations like AMUCT played a very constructive role in making higher education relevant and qualitative. We strongly believe that higher education alone will lead to progress and quality and excellence are to be integrated with equity and access. We can translate the goal of an inclusive society by focusing on these basic factors in higher education.

Submission before the UGC 7^th Pay Review Committee:

We concur with the memorandum submitted by the AIFUCTO. Our submission either supplements or compliments the views expressed by AIFUCTO.

1. Pay Scales: Pay scales are to be determined with a vision and mission. We feel the following factors should form the basis of pay scales.

• Retaining and attracting the best talents towards teaching profession.
• The late entry into the profession due to post graduate and other relevant qualifications.
• The priority to be given for developing a qualitative higher education system.
• The pay package offered in the corporate sector and other private sectors.
• Relative Pay scales offered in the earlier schemes.
• Relative Pay scales offered in the 7^th Central Pay Commission.
• The Principle of ‘Equal Pay for Equal work’.
• Maintaining minimum standard of living in tune with increasing cost of living.

Minimum pay scales to be recommended may be:

*Above suggestions are based on the changes between 1996 and 2006 scales. Since Professors will get less than Associate professors, proper corrections may be made.

2. Qualification: A minimum of 55% marks in the concerned post graduate examination or equivalent degree and a pass in NET/SLET or equivalent examination. PhD holders may be exempted from passing NET/SLET examination. For the post of Principal PhD should be minimum qualification with specified years of service. Seniority may be given preference in the selection process.

3. Date of implementation: Pay scales and other benefits are to be implemented uniformly in all the states from 1.1.2016.

4. Placements: A minimum of 4 placements with the proposed designations should be offered. Career Advancement Scheme for the Associate Professors to move into the post of Professor subject to the same conditions that are applicable to the Post of Professor through CAS in the Universities should be made available.

Explanation: In spite of the recommendations of the 6^th pay scales, no efforts have been made to create Professors Post in the colleges. The implementation of the recommendation of the 6^th pay commission in this regard has many legal and technical difficulties.

5. Work Load: The general work load pattern recommended by earlier pay review committees is acceptable. But stipulating uniform work load for all cadres of teachers is unscientific. A relaxation of a minimum of 2 hours/week teaching should be provided from the level of Associate professor and similar relaxation should be extended to the teachers engaged in guiding Ph D candidates and such other serious research work.

6. Filling of vacancies: Goal of UGC scales of Pay, in general and 6^th pay scales in particular, is to attract young Talents into Teaching Profession:

Explanation: The most important objective of extending UGC pay scales to colleges and universities has been defeated due to the lack of recruitment into approved vacancies and failure to create new vacancies. Across the country almost in all institutions and universities including aided colleges more than 70 % of the teaching workload is shared by guest / contract faculty with very meagre amount of salary.

Suggestion (i) Committee should come out with concrete and mandatory recommendations along with the new pay scales to make recruitment an ongoing policy. The 7^th UGC pay commission may allocate a definite amount to meet this requirement. 

(ii) Constituting an All India College Teachers Recruitment Board for Central Universities and National Level Institutes and State level Colleges Teachers Recruitment Board for Sate universities and Government and Aided Colleges is needed.

7. Unaided Teachers: A large number of teachers are working as unaided teachers. There are more than 1500 unaided colleges in Karnataka. Even in Aided colleges, nearly 70% of vacancies are considered as unaided. Most of these teachers are exploited with abysmally lower salaries and working conditions. Pay scales must be made applicable to such teachers also. The situation is not different in other states too. Unaided teachers and teachers drawing state scales of pay should have an access into Refresher/orientation courses. They should be considered for FIP programmes also. UGC should make it mandatory to the Higher Education Institutions to prescribe minimum qualifications and minimum amount of pay even in the case of appointment of Guest/Contract /Temporary faculty.

8. Appointment of Principals in the colleges: The existing provisions for appointment of Principals in the Colleges have many practical problems in its implementation. Consequently many states including Karantaka, even today has not appointed Principal’s in any colleges. Around 90% of the colleges are operating without regular (only in-charge) Principals who do not hold any authority to take decisions, due to which quality suffers.

Suggestion: Keeping the same academic eligibility qualifications, the candidate shall be from among the same institutions or from the state.

9. PhD Increments:  Currently different states have been following different yardsticks to grant PhD incentive increments. Additional increments shall be given at the time of entry into service to those who have also cleared NET / SLET. Three increments as incentive for Ph.D. shall be given for the in-service teachers as and when they complete their PhD degree as per the PhD regulations governing and applicable to the concerned candidates.

10. Retirement Age (Superannuation): Presently different age level is considered for attaining superannuation. In the same state also there are variations with 60 years for government and affiliated colleges and 62 years for Universities and constituent colleges.

Suggestion: The age of superannuation at the Universities, constituent colleges, govt colleges and aided private colleges and quantum of retirement benefits throughout the country should be the same.  Raising the age will be detrimental to the future of lakhs of young post graduate qualified candidates aspiring to enter into teaching in Higher Education Institutions. More over it is unfair to have different types of superannuation age for same kind of faculty in the same state.

11 Payment of Arrears: In many states like, Karnataka even after 10 years of implementing 2006 Revised UGC pay scales, the arrears have not been paid completely. It is the lukewarm response from the Finance Departments of the respective states such anomalies continue.

Suggestion: Make it mandatory to pay arrears immediately of its implementation by prescribing last date for getting it reimbursed from the central Govt.

12. Librarians and Directors of Physical Education should be treated at par with the teaching faculty with regard to qualifications, promotions and increments. They should be Re-designated as Professors, Associate Professors and Assistant Professors. UGC benefits such as Faculty Development Programmes, Minor and Major research programmes should also be made available to Librarians and DPEs.

13. Examination Remuneration: Karnataka is the only state to deny the teachers the remuneration relating to examination work. We accept that examination is very much a part of the duties of a teacher. But it does not mean that teachers should be deprived of examination remuneration. Examination remuneration system should be restored.

We appeal to the Pay Review Committee to consider our view points sincerely while formulating its recommendations. We expect the PRC will submit its report at the earliest. Please ensure that the accepted scales of pay and other terms are accepted and implemented by all the states uniformly in totality.

Thank you.

   Dr Ummappa Poojary P                                                                   Dr Kumar Hegde

     President- AMUCT                                                               General Secretary - AMUCT