PCCTU slams govt as salary of college teachers not released

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Amritsar, July 3

A meeting was organised today by the Amritsar unit of the Punjab and Chandigarh College Teachers Union (PCCTU) to discuss the ‘anti-higher education attitude’ of the Punjab government. The problems of 136 aided colleges of the state were discussed in the meeting.

Dr BB Yadav, district president of the Amritsar unit, said the higher education department of Punjab has been continuously abolishing aided colleges with its policies. “First, it reduced the retirement age of college teachers from 60 to 58, which affected teachers, then left the central portal to benefit private universities. When the Management Federation, Principals’ Association and PCCTU protested, the DPI office stopped salaries to arm-twist the teachers. Now, the salary grants have not been released by the department, affecting the teachers. How are we supposed to work towards uplifting higher education in state,” he said.

PCCTU general secretary Dr Gurdas Singh Sekhon, said that the Principal Secretary, Higher Education Department, has been informed that the teachers of 136 aided colleges have not received their salaries for the last four months. “Who is responsible for this? The Punjab government had promised that the 7th Pay Commission would be implemented from October 2022, which has not been done by any college till date. Who is to be held accountable,” he asked.

This is not the first time that the teachers of aided colleges have spoken against the government’s approach towards their demands. The teachers from aided schools too have been waiting for their salaries since March 2023.

Convener of Punjab women’s wing of PCCTU, Seema Jaitley said Chief Minister Bhagwant Maan and Education Minister Harjot Bains should pay attention to the Higher Education Department and not harass teachers.

“Hundreds of professors recruited on 1,925 posts are still working on daily wages as the college management does not want to regularise them. It’s a difficult time for teachers in the state,” she said.