Teachers demand wages as per 7th Pay Commission report
Tribune News Service
Amritsar, July 31
The 68th general house meeting of the Punjab and Chandigarh College Teachers’ Union (PCCTU) was held in which members announced the agenda for the year 2024-25. One of its most significant demands is the implementation of wages according to the 7th Pay Commission recommendations with uniformity across all aided, affiliated colleges in the state.
Also, the members raised the issues of restoring 95 per cent grant under the grant-in-aid scheme to all unaided, aided private colleges in the state, under which the state government is yet to release its share of 75 per cent funds. “We also have been batting for establishing a higher education regulatory authority in Punjab, which will keep a tab on fee hike and grants, while engaging teachers in all three universities in the state — Punjabi University, Patiala, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, and Panjab University, Chandigarh — while revising or reviewing syllabus. The state should lift the ban on the recruitment of new teachers as colleges reel under the shortage of teachers,” said Dr Gurdas Singh Sekhon, general secretary, PCCTU. He said while government college teachers are being benefitted with the 7th Pay Commission wages, teachers from private, unaided colleges are still waiting for such benefits.
He said the Central Government hastily implemented the National Education Policy without removing the loopholes. Dr Vinay Sofat, president, PCCTU, said the Central Government should consider the suggestions of stakeholders in implementing the NEP modules across the country in entirety. He said they had raised these issues with the state government, but nothing came out of the discussions.
