Thomas Joseph,
President, AIFUCTO
t.thomas.joseph@gmail.com
The announcement made by
Smt.D.Purandeswari, Minister of State in the Ministry of Human
Resource Development in the Lok Sabha on the 16th of December,
regarding Revision of Pay Scales of Teachers in Universities and
Colleges, is a far cry from the recommendations of the UGC Pay
Review Committee under the Chairmanship of Prof. G.K. Chadha. It
is totally at variance with the resolution on the pay revision
adopted by the National Executive Council of the All India
Federation of University and College Teachers Organizations
(AIFUCTO), which was submitted to the Chadha Committee on
15-4-2008. It has also failed to accommodate most of the
post-Chadda charter of demands highlighted through the Movement
Resolution adopted at the National Conference of AIFUCTO held at
Bangalore from 17 to 19th October. In the result, the status and
promotional prospects of teachers have been substantially
downgraded and financial benefits considerably reduced vis-à-vis
Chadda Committee recommendations. The prospects of uniform and
simultaneous implementation of the package through out the country
have suffered even more.
AIFUCTO had enunciated the following six principles for the
formulation of the proposals for the VI UGC pay review of
University and college teachers in its submission made to the
Chadha Committee:
1)
Parity of college and university teachers with at least Group A
Officers
2) Incentive for contribution to teaching and extension on par
with research
3) Resolving the anomalies in the V Pay revision
4) Implementation of new pay package w.e.f 1.1.2006
5) 100% Central assistance for the implementation of the revised
pay package
6) Mandatory, uniform and simultaneous implementation of the new
package
Though Chadha Committee had not fully accommodated the
wishlist of AIFUCTO, it had made an honest attempt for substantial
compliance with the demands raised by the apex organization of
college and university teachers. AIFUCTO had taken note of the
positive recommendations and complimented the Chadda Committee
through the Movement Resolution adopted at its National
Conference, which states as follows:
"The General Council of AIFUCTO places on record its
appreciation for the hard work put in by the PRC, especially by
Chairman Prof.G.K.Chadha, for submitting its recommendation on the
entire pay package from 1.1.2006 and incorporating the provision
for 100% central financial assistance for the first 5 years and
50% for the next five for the effective implementation of the
scheme. AIFUCTO is also in general agreement with the efforts
taken by the PRC to link the pay review with the requirement of
promotion of the quality of education in Universities and
Colleges, by attracting young men and women to the profession
through a scheme of special incentives and retaining experienced
teachers in the stream by advancing the age of superannuation and
by providing new avenues for their career advancement. AIFUCTO
also appreciates the concern of PRC for resolving the anomalies in
the implementation of V Pay review Report, which has been the
cause of considerable heart burn among a large number of teachers
with a long tenure of service".
The recommendations on the higher grade pay for teachers
vis-a-vis civil service officers and the special academic
allowance had come in for applause from the academic fraternity.
The recommendation for the creation of new posts of Senior
Associate Professor, Senior Professor and Professor of Eminence
had, besides accommodating to some extent the long-standing demand
of AIFUCTO for third promotion, also provided new avenues of
career advancement for talented and hardworking teachers. These
recommendations would have helped improve the quality of
instruction in universities and colleges, had they been
implemented in toto.
However, AIFUCTO had also taken note of several lapses on
the part of the Pay Review Committee, which lead to its framing a
17- point charter of demands, seeking modifications in the
recommendations in such a way as would make the proposals more
inclusive. Following were the demands:
1) Modification in the
provision for CAS to Senior Professor.
2) Modification in the
provision for CAS to Senior Associate Professor
3) Greater clarity in
the recommendation for CAS from 1.1.1996
4) Parity for
librarians and DPEs with teachers
5) Inclusion of
Associate Professor in Pay Band Four
6) Introduction of
Professorship in undergraduate colleges
7) Central assistance
to the States in respect of retired teachers
8) Continuance of GPF,
Gratuity and Pension for all teachers
9) U G C Scales for all
regular teachers with/without NET/SLET
10) Appropriate scales
for Tutors/Demonstrators
11) Suitable scale for
Part-time teachers
12) Re-designation of
librarians and DPEs as teachers
13) The benefit of 4%
increment to all teachers
14) Clarity on
increment to CAS Readers
15) Pay fixation on the
basis of pre-revised scales to Direct Recruits
16) Central assistance
for academic allowance
17) Incorporation of
PRC proposals in UGC regulations
The MHRD package has only
taken into account three of AIFUCTO's seventeen demands by
inclusion of Associate Professor in Pay Band Four, by relaxing
minimum qualification for moving to Associate Professor and by the
introduction of Professorship in undergraduate departments. The
rest have simply been ignored. Even the minimal concessions have
come at a heavy price. The three new designations proposed by PRC
have been scrapped. The number of years required for promotion to
Associate Professor (equivalent of Reader) have been increased
from existing 9 with PhD, 10 with MPhil and 11 years without MPhil/
Phd to 12, 13 and 14 years respectively. CAS promotions have been
reduced from existing two to one. While teachers could move from
Lecturer to Senior Lecturer and Selection Grade Lecturer as a
matter of routine in the Vth UGC package, hurdles have now been
put in the form of a rigorous selection process to move from
Assistant Professor to Associate Professor. The details of the
selection process are yet to be spelt out. But it is almost
certain that the process would, in actual practice, involve
conformity and obedience to the powers that be, compromising
academic autonomy and dignity of the professorate. It is strange
that even a Selection Grade Lecturer/Reader will now have to go
through the selection process to move to the post of Associate
Professor. As a matter of fact, the Associate Professor in the new
scale is only the equivalent of the Selection Grade
Lecturer/Reader in the old scale. In essence, a Selection Grade
Lecturer/Reader would stagnate at the second stage in the ladder
of promotion even when he /she is "promoted" to the post
of Associate Professor. The only difference would be the grandiose
designation he/she acquires in the process. The credibility gap in
the claim that this is an achievement of sorts is of Himalayan
proportions.
The downgrading of the professorate, which has been
effected by MHRD, does not end here; it only begins with it. The
higher grade pay recommended by Chadda Committee to the posts of
Assistant Professor and Professor have been pruned. The apparent
increase in the grade pay of the Associate Professor comes at the
cost of the new post of Senior Associate Professor. The advance
increments for in-service MPhil have been reduced from two to one.
The increment proposed for NET has been abolished. Whether the
academic allowance recommended would be sanctioned is yet to be
seen.
The irony of the concluding words of the Minister's
statement in the Lok Sabha on the revised scales would not be lost
on the teachers. She said: "Sir, we have begun a process of
restoring the dignity and pride in being associated with the
teaching profession. This decision to improve pay and other
emoluments and to provide more attractive service conditions to
the teachers is only one of the several steps required to attain
the broader objective of improving the quality of higher
education. This august House would, I hope, agree that this is a
significant step towards that goal". Empty rhetoric, despite
the decision to cut down the Central assistance to the States to
80% and to limit it to 4 years and three months against 100% for
the first five years and 50% for the next five years recommended
by Chadha Committee; despite dilution in the Chadha Committee
recommendation for the implementation of the scales from 1-1-2006;
despite the dilution in the principle of uniform and simultaneous
implementation throughout the country by permitting flexibility in
the date of implementation of the scales from State to State.
Inclusive words do not bring in inclusion. Only inclusive actions
do. It is not enough to announce a package for the entire nation.
It is also necessary to take the responsibility for financing it,
more so in respect of higher education , as the responsibility for
maintenance of standards in higher education rests with the
University Grants Commission(UGC) , which is a Central agency. The
rhetoric of the "need to strengthen the quality of higher
education in the country" will not cover up the divisive
character of the MHRD package, which is a reflection of the
indifference of the Central Government to the project of quality
education for all.
What is to be done now? The National Executive Council
(NEC) of AIFUTO is meeting at Gandhi Peace Foundation, New Delhi
on the 4th of January to discuss the agenda for future action. The
attempt will be to create a broad platform for a national struggle
in which all teachers could join, irrespective of their
organizational affiliations. AIFUCTO realizes that the issues at
stake are larger than that of pay scales and promotions of
teachers. The linkages between the project of inclusive and
qualitative higher education and inclusive national development
need to be recognized. The struggle for inclusive development has
to be fought on an inclusive platform. The symbolism of the place
and the time of AIFUCTO's meeting should not be missed. The NEC
meets at Gandhi Peace Foundation. Gandhi's struggle was long and
arduous. But it brought to us freedom with dignity. Teachers shall
have to struggle hard and struggle for long, with dignity and
determination, to wrest their rights. The time is most propitious
to begin that long march to victory. The General Elections are due
in May. The time to go to the streets to place our grievances and
our demands before the people is here and now. Teachers have the
right and the duty to approach the people. The fight for the
rights and the dignity of the teacher is not merely a fight for
higher emoluments for five lakh Assistant Professors, Associate
Professors and Professors; it is a fight for the millions of our
countrymen as the future of the nation, as famously stated by
Kothari, is shaped in the classrooms.