College teachers to protest ‘apathy’ of Punjab Govt

Lovleen Bains
Doraha, November 21

College teachers of private-aided colleges of the state have announced to go on a mass casual leave to participate in the protest rally at Chandigarh tomorrow. The teachers will get together to press for their long-pending demands. The agenda of the protest is non-implementation of the 7th Pay Commission by the state government.

Prof Braham Ved, state president, Punjab and Chandigarh College Teachers’ Union (PCCTU), said: “Our demands have remained unfulfilled as the primary focus of the government has diverted from higher education to matters which are of no significance. Education, which is the backbone of every society, and teachers, who are the nation builders, have been pushed to oblivion as they have been crying foul and have failed to make inroads into the hearts of the ‘so-called’ education-friendly government.”

“Apart from implementation of the 7th Pay Commission at the earliest, we strongly demand the release of regular and timely grants, professor grade for teachers of private colleges and other emoluments and facilities at par with government college teachers,” he added.

Prof Kuldeep Batta, district president, PCCTU, expressed his dismay over the functioning of the Higher Education Department. He said: “In spite of repeated requests, neither the Chief Minister nor the Education Minister nor even the Education Secretary has made any serious attempt to address the issues pertaining to higher education in the state. The non-implementation of pension scheme, rural HRA and non-regularisation of 1,925 teachers with full scale need urgent attention.”

“Things are headed south for the teaching profession, owing to the policies of the government and new policies unleashed by privatisation. When the nation builders are not duly rewarded for their service, how can they contribute to their fullest capacity and capability?” he added.