No let-up in stir at Punjabi University

Tribune News Service
Patiala, October 27

The Punjabi University Teachers’ Association (PUTA) along with A-class Officers’ Association and Pensioners’ Association on Tuesday staged a protest against the university administration and the state government over their demands on the campus.

Over 300 faculty members joined the protest march across the campus. Their demands include financial grants, ensuring autonomy of the university and timely disbursal of salary and pension.

The Joint Action Committee, a body formed by the employees comprising teaching, non-teaching faculty members and pensioners, has been staging protests over the demands for more than 65 days now. This is because the cash-starved university has not been able to disburse the staff’s salary on time for months.

Nishan Singh Deol, PUTA president, said, “The state government’s grant is only 12 per cent of the university’s salary budget, which should otherwise be 100 per cent. The state government instead of ensuring autonomy raises unnecessary demands regarding the university’s administrative decisions.”

Avneet Pal Singh, PUTA secretary, said, “The government should release a grant to clear the pending payments of the university. It should also increase the monthly grant from Rs 8.7 crore to Rs 30 crore.” He alleged that the government had been blocking the university’s grants over time and should refrain from the same.

A faculty member said: “We should be focusing on research and teaching but the university’s condition has left us protesting on a daily basis.”

The employees and pensioners said they would continue the protest in coming days too.