Punjabi University guest faculty to observe black Diwali
A protest by Assistant Professors (Guest faculty) on the Punjabi University campus here entered the twenty second day today. Notably, during a recent monthly meeting of PUGTA (Punjabi University Guest Teachers Association), a resolution against the university administration was passed. PUGTA members decided to observe black Diwali on Wednesday. They also announced plans to intensify their protest in the coming days.
They said out of the total sanctioned posts of 724 teachers, 392 were lying vacant. The said at present, only 332 permanent teachers were serving in the university.
The PUGTA executive committee said the shortage of permanent teachers in the university was being met by guest teachers. The panel further stated that the university paid its guest faculty only Rs 750 per lecture, with a maximum cap of Rs 35,000, which was complete violation of the regulations of the UGC (University Grants Commission).
The committee said the Punjab and Haryana High Court had already ruled for “Equal pay for equal work,” yet the university administration was paying no heed to it.
The committee said, “The primary demand of the university guest assistant professors is that their salary should be hiked to Rs 57,700, which is equal to the basic remuneration paid to a regular assistant professor. However, the university administration is not even willing to discuss their demands.”
