UT wants to do away with resource persons in colleges, files affidavit

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 22

The Department of Higher Education, Chandigarh, has filed an affidavit in the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) to do away with the appointment of resource persons in colleges from the next academic session.

The department stated they would appoint the candidates either on contractual or regular basis.

The Director, Higher Education, had granted permission to principals of the colleges in August 2011 to have a pool of resource persons to meet the emergent teaching requirements.

A communiqué sent to the principals stated: “Colleges are advised to have a pool of resources persons for teaching various subjects. Eminent scholars, teachers, retired teachers, talented young people and experts from the industry can be part of the resource pool.”

The communication further stated that the resource persons could be paid honorarium from the student funds, commensurate with experience and qualifications on hourly basis as per the instructions issued by the Administration.The honorarium was increased in March, 2015. A UGC-NET qualified resource person was to be paid Rs 1,000 per lecture, subject to a maximum of Rs 25,000 per month.

However, four applicants teaching in different departments filed a petition in the CAT in 2017, pleading that they should be treated as contract assistant professors. They pleaded that they were performing the duty similar to a regular or a contractual assistant professor, but just because of their nomenclature (resource person), they were being paid Rs 25,000 per month — which was too less than other teachers.

They requested the CAT to direct the department to allow them to continue as assistant professors on contractual basis till regular appointments were made to the posts.

However, the department replied that the criteria for selection of contractual assistant professors were very elaborate, whereas the resource persons were engaged only by way of brief interaction at the department level.

The tribunal has fixed May 2 as the next day of hearing.