Punjab college teachers announce boycott of exams evaluation duty on Jan 16 and closure of colleges on Jan 18

He said that these issues were discussed in detail in the meeting of the Joint Action Committee of unaided colleges and the decision to boycott marking duty and to keep colleges closed on January 18.

Singh said that the colleges and universities in Punjab come under UGC and according to UGC the age limit of teaching staff is 60 years, which the Punjab government is aiming to decrease to 58 years. He said that the government gives 95% grant to the aided staff in aided colleges of Punjab, but the current government has reduced the grant to 75%, thereby making it difficult for many aided colleges to manage finances.

“The financial burden has increased, and it has become difficult for professors to get a salary. We are demanding that all the professors working on un-aided posts in Punjab should be converted to aided posts, so that the shortage of teachers in the aided colleges of Punjab would be fulfilled and the financial burden on the colleges would be reduced,” he said.

He said that the professors of all the universities and colleges of Punjab have announced to hit the streets and protest against AAP government which has failed to solve all these issues. He said that on January 16, the evaluation of papers in all the colleges of Ludhiana would be stopped and on January 18, all the colleges would be locked. A demand letter will be given to the deputy commissioners in all districts, he added.