Sixth Pay Commission: Teachers welcome 70% pay hike by UGC’s Pay Review Committee

Sixth Pay Commission: Teachers welcome 70% pay hike by UGC’s Pay Review Committee

New Delhi, Oct 5, 2008: Teaching bodies have welcomed the 70% pay hike as suggested by UGC’s Pay Review Committee. The University Grants Commission (UGC) that had formed a committee to look into the university teachers and staff’s pay had submitted its report two days ago recommending across the board pay hike of approximately 75 percent.

Earlier he teachers were up in arms against the Chaddha Committee as the committee is called for the delay in submitting the report. The teachers say that when everyone was getting pay hikes they were left in lurch due to the delay caused by the inability of the committee to submit its report.

But the actual submission of the report has made teachers more than happy. Many said that they had expected the same pay hike as recommended by Sixth Pay Commission.

Sixth Pay Commission had recommended almost 30 percent pay hike for the Central government employees. The almost 70 percent pay hike makes a professor’s salary at par with that of IAS officers.

In the meantime teachers unions have hailed the committee and its recommendations as very welcome.

Ashok Burman, general secretary of the All India Federation of University and College Teachers Organisation says, “Certain recommendations of the committee are path-breaking like the starting salary of college and university teachers will now be more than those of IAS officers. The Central Government will take full responsibility for the salary of college and university teachers for the first five years”.

The UGC has tried to give new nomenclature to lecturer and readers and that has made a lecturers very happy. Definitely an assistant professor looks better that simply a lecturer.

H.C. Narang a member of the committee says, “Another additional new post is that of professor of eminence. This title may be conferred on not more than 10 per cent of the total strength of professors in a university. This position will be bestowed on someone who has acquired national and international stature. The criteria for choosing them will be tough. In terms of pay package, professors of eminence and Vice-Chancellors will be at par (Rs. 80,000)”.

Profesor Chaddha while talking to reporters on Friday said, “At the college level, the post of Reader will be replaced with associate professor. A new position of senior associate professor has been proposed as a third avenue of promotion for college teachers. We have also asked that posts of professor be sanctioned for direct recruitment in colleges for disciplines that have postgraduate teaching. There should be at least one post of professor in such disciplines”.

Chaddha also said, “Good teachers are must for spread of higher education, which has not reached the population living in remote areas. The tribals, dalits, women are still deprived of it. This situation must be changed if the country has to progress. In 11th five year plan, we have given stress on faculty development,” the Padmashree recipient said. Click here for more