Biometric machines on HPU campus opposed

Tribune News Service

Shimla, April 1

The Himachal Pradesh University Teachers’ Association (HPUTA) and all four non-teaching associations today opposed the Executive Council (EC) decision to install biometric machines on the university campus.

They said the university didn’t had funds to give retirement benefits to retirees who had given their whole life to the institution, but had money to spend on wasteful expenditure such as installing biometric machines.

HPUTA president Shashi Kant Lomesh said: “The university lacks basic infrastructure. A large number of posts of teaching and non-teaching employees are lying vacant, there is shortage of research journals in the library, wi-fi is not installed in hostels. Rather than concentrating on basic facilities, the university is installing biometric system.”

They said in 2003-04, the Himachal and Panjab University were given “A” grade by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC), but in one decade, PU reached the ranking of top universities, while HPU deteriorated. HPUTA members sought rollback of the EC decision and warned of dire consequences leading to protest in case the decision was forced on them.

President of Joint Coordination Committee (JCC) of non-teaching employees (JCC) Hiteshwar Singh said the university implemented RUSA in haste without taking the teaching and non-teaching community into confidence following which the employees in the examination branch were sitting from 8am to 9 pm to ensure that results were declared on time.

Demanding filling of vacant posts, he said the university was already reeling under staff crunch and employees were over-burdened with work and installation of biometric machines would imply that the employees would only work from 10am to 5 pm and no employee would work overtime, he cautioned.

Varsity short of funds, lacks infrastructure
The Himachal Pradesh University Teachers’ Association (HPUTA) and all four non-teaching associations said the university didn’t had funds to give retirement benefits to retirees who had given their whole life to the institution.