Chandigarh: Teachers stage sit-in near PU gate to demand pay scale implementation

The teachers threatened to observe complete 'Eductaion Bandh' till the time their demands are met.

In protest, teachers have even boycotted exams that has forced universities and colleges to reschedule vacations and postpone examinations. (Express/File)

Hundreds of teachers of Panjab University on Thursday assembled near the varsity’s Gate Number 2 and sat on a protest to demand the implementation of the recommendations of the 7th UGC pay scale and aginst the decision of the Punjab government delinking UGC pay scales from institutions of higher learning.

The teachers, terming the delay as undue, blocked the university gate for more than two hours on Thursday, with leaders of Panjab University Teachers’ Association (PUTA) decrying the role of the state government and demanded that the new pay scale be implemented at the earliest. The teachers threatened to observe complete ‘Eductaion Bandh’ till the time their demands are met.

On Thursday, teachers of various departments gathered near the Panjab University gate early in the morning and raised slogans against Punjab government and its leaders. PUTA president, Mritunjay Kumar, briefed the teachers about various efforts being made by the the organisation to fight for their rights under the aegis of Punjab Federation of University and College Teachers Organisations (PFUCTO), while underlining the various times they had already engaged with the state administration for a redressal of the issue. Each time, they said, for one reason or another, the state government has been putting their demands on the backburner.

PUTA Secretary, Professor AS Naura, cautioned against the government’s move to de-link teaching positions from UGC pay scales and said that such a move shall have deep implications reducing the teachers into bonded labourers.

Various senior teachers and PUTA activists addressed the gathering on Thursday and attacked the Punjab Government for its failure to issue notification for adoption of 7th UGC pay scales. They said that the 7th UGC pay scales had been been implemented in all other states of the country a long time ago. They threatened to intensify their struggle in the coming days and on Friday, hold a protest march from Gandhi Bhawan from noon onwards.

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