Pay guest faculty Rs 1,500 per lecture, says UGC

Vishal Joshi
Tribune News Service
Kurukshetra, January 29

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The University Grants Commission (UGC) has directed higher educational institutes across the country to pay Rs1,500 per lecture to guest faculty members.

As per a notification issued on Monday, the UGC asked institutes to double the upper ceiling of monthly payment to Rs50,000.

The UGC, in its 537th meeting on December 10 last year, considered the issue of enhancement in honorarium of guest faculty in universities and colleges with implementation of recommendations of the Seventh Pay Commission.

Prof Rajnish Jain, secretary of the apex body, clarified the guest faculty would be appointed only against sanctioned posts.

“These guidelines will come into force with effect from the date of issuance of this letter,” reads the letter dated January 28.

Sources said as per UGC guidelines, contractual teachers were being paid Rs1,000 per lecture subject to a maximum of Rs25,000 per month. However, Kurukshetra University was paying Rs27,000 per month to about 250 teachers hired on ad hoc basis.

Addressed to Registrars of all universities, the UGC order stated the number of guest faculty members to be appointed could be up to 20 per cent over and above sanctioned posts where the posts were not adequate as per the workload.

“The selection procedure for appointing guest faculty will be the same as those of regularly appointed assistant professors. Superannuated teachers may be considered for engagement as guest faculty subject to the maximum age limit of 70 years,” read the notification.

Dr Hardeep Lal Joshi, secretary of the Kurukshetra University Teachers Association, said enhancement in salary of ad hoc teaching staff had been a long-pending demand.

“It is to be seen when it gets government clearance. The decision will benefit teachers at the entry level. The authorities should start recruiting regular staff or start paying full pay scale to ad hoc teachers,” he said.