The Sixth Pay Commission recommendations, adapted for university and college teachers, have just been released by the UGC Pay Revision Committee (PRC) headed by JNU Vice Chancellor Prof. G.K. Chadha. this press release has an extended summary. If everything goes well, university and college teachers will start enjoying their new, enhanced salaries from November.
[Another such committee, headed by IISc's ex-Director Prof. Goverdhan Mehta is looking into pay revision for faculty members at IITs, IIMs, IISc, and other such institutions; it has been asked to submit its report within three months.]
The newspaper headlines point to a (minimum of) 70 percent increase in faculty salaries at all levels. Let me check if this is correct, using university professors as an example.
As some of you may be aware, university professors start at a basic salary of 16,400 (which is what associate professors in IISc, IITs and IIMs start at). In January of 2006, including the dearness allowance (which accounts for inflation), the bare salary (without other allowances, such as house rent subsidy, city dwellers' subsidy, etc) was about Rs. 30,000.
According to the Chadha commirtee recommendations, university professors would start at a salary of 37,400. In addition, they are eligible for a grade pay of Rs. 11,000, and an academic allowance (a new feature) of Rs. 1,200. Thus, the new salary works out to Rs. 49,600/-, which is about 65 percent more than the original salary of Rs. 30,000.
[What about someone with an ME or MTech degree, joining a college as an assistant professor? He/she would start with a salary of Rs. 25,100 per month -- 15,600 at the start of the pay band + three increments of 3 percent each + 6,600 of grade pay + 1,500 of academic allowance (see below) -- in January 2006. Adjusting for inflation, the pay+increments will go up by about 22 percent, yielding a starting salary of salary of about Rs. 29,000 now. In addition, he'she will also be eligible for other allowances -- see below.]
The Chadha committee recommendations pack quite a few other attractive features. Let me highlight the following:
If you live in any of the big (Class A1 or A) cities -- apparently, there are 13 of them ;-) -- your transport allowance will go up from the current Rs. 800 (approx) to Rs. 3,200 (plus inflation adjustment).
For each child (upto a maximum of two children), an allowance of Rs. 1000 has been recommended; if the child is in a hostel, this goes up to Rs. 3000. I believe this is a new feature.
Under leave travel concession (LTC) benefits, while the number of visits in a four-year block remains at one for anywhere in India, it will go up to three (from the current one) for your home town.
There are recommendations about how the faculty member and the university will share funds coming through industrial consultancy projects. Since I don't have any idea about what the current norms are, I'm not able to comment on them. On the face of it, they appear liberal: faculty members can get 100 %, 70 % and 50 % of the consultancy fees depending on whether they add up to 30 percent, 100 percent or more than 100 percent of their salary.
There's a very curious recommendation is about the number of years of service for becoming eligible for full pension: Chadha committee has asked that it be reduced to 20 years (from the current X years; at IISc, I believe X = 28).
Frankly, this recommendation puzzles me: I can see at least one way in which it could boomerang on universities: faculty members -- particularly capable ones -- may choose to leave after 20 years to take up positions in private colleges and universities, enjoying the benefits of a government sector pension and a private sector salary.
Thus, the Chadha committee has used both salary and perks to make university and college faculty positions more attractive. Let's see how many of these recommendations will be accepted and implemented. While the UPA government is in a hurry to spread happiness among key constituents, it cannot afford to alienate other key constituencies!
3 Comments:
It is an encouraging step but i think they should have inculded annual review for scientific capabilties and productivity and 5 yrs of external agency review. Promotions should be linked with student evaluation 10%, scientific productivity 35%, social service (like volunteer training of minority or less privelaged etc like in US) 5%, Grants 35% and awards etc 10%.
I cannot digest the fact that now a Bangalore University professor who is just wasting her/his time in dept will get same salary as a Prof from IISc who is running around and spending weekends in labs to carry on research.
I agree entirely with the above comment. This is utter nonsense. Forget abt a Bangalore univ. prof (who might aleast have a nominal phD), but even a Bangalore LOCAL COLLEGE prof. (who can just be an MSc/MA/MCom) idling his time in the dept with many side businesses(private tuition,stock market,owning shops etc.) WILL have the same salary as an IISc Prof!!! Disgusting, to say the least.
-KK
(It is easy to send anonymous biased one sided opinions as the two abovementioned comments . if they have courage let them identify themselves)
It is now clear that the entire gameplan of UGC and stooges of higher education like G K Chadha PRC Report was to deny the third promotion to teachers. The submitted report confirms this
At a time when the 6th Pay Commission has categorically stated that at least 3 assured promotions should be given to both the military and civilian govt employees the UGC through its G K Chadha PRC Commission is trying to deny this or put conditionalities such as peer review , student assessment , selective implementation in P G colleges which would make it unimplementable . See what they have done to the Reader’s grade/ The Rs 12000-420-18300 grade has been downgraded to PB – 3 whereas equivalent grades in Central govt which end at Rs18300 and surprisingly with Rs 400 as the increment annually have been without ado been upgraded to the Rs. 37400 - 67000 i.e ., PB -4 band. Are teachers so degraded that even existing scales should not be given the same upgradation as has been given to Central govt employess by the 6th CPC recently. It smacks of malafide intention.
UGC's past record in this regard speaks volumes in this regard. IT has withdrawn such 3rd promotion scheme after initiating its implementation in Ramjas college of Delhi Universityin 2000.
The FEDCUTA has also pointed out that the Professorship (promotion) which was introduced in 1998 in DU colleges was withdrawn unilaterally by the UGC in October 2000.
It is pertinent to mention that in the meeting between the HRD Minister and representatives of AIFUCTO, DUTA and FEDCUTA held on 16.8.1998, it was clarified “that a Reader with a minimum of eight years of service will be eligible for promotion as a Professor under the CAS. It was further clarified that professorship in colleges other than the autonomous colleges would also be introduced in accordance with the standards and norms to be determined by the UGC.” Accordingly, the UGC vide its 1998 Notification introduced Professorship (promotion) and laid down the method of promotion. A College teacher of Ramjas College in Delhi University got promotion to Professorship. However, despite the aforementioned agreement, the CAS for Professorship in colleges was unilaterally withdrawn by the UGC on 6th October 2000.
In the light of the above agreement with MHRD, the FEDCUTA had urged the UGC Pay Review Committee to recommend not only the promotion to Professorship / Professor grade in colleges, but also creation of Reader and Professor post (open) in the Colleges. The FEDCUTA states that is is opposed to the idea of instituting these posts only in the Posst graduate Colleges.
When merely graduates in the civil service and in defence forces will enjoy 3rd assured promotion teachers who have to have PHD degrees just to get into the service apart from regularly updating their qualifications through seminar / symposia attendance , publications etc throughout their career ( Tell me one case where with lesser qualifications you can be a Lecturer at the entry level for a permanent vacancy, I'd take back my statement ) are being made mendicants by being denied of this.
We have strong reasons to believe that the professorial lobby ( which has opposed the implementation of professors' grade in Delhi University colleges and elsewhere in the country in the past ) is in cahoots with higher education mandarins to deny the legitimate right of third promotion to college teachers.Chadha committee intends to follow this in letter and spirit.
Is.nt it?
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