Government downgrades teachers at all levels

Instead of improving on the Chaddha Pay Review Committee (PRC) recommendations, the Government has further downgraded teachers at all levels: Lecturer, Reader and Professor. Behind the false gesture of changing the designation to Assistant Professor and Associate Professor for Lecturer and Reader and naming Grade Pay as Academic Grade Pay, the teaching profession has been given a shocking deal.

1. Pay scales have been lowered at all levels.
2. Years required for promotion to Associate Professor (which is known worldwide as the equivalent of Reader) have been increased from the existing 9 with PhD, 10 with MPhil and 11 years without MPhil/Phd to 12, 13 and 14 years respectively.
3. While Associate Professors have been placed in PB4, all teachers presently designated as Reader or Lecturer (Selection Grade) would have to face another selection to become Associate Professor.
4. The demand for assured third promotion to professor’s grade has not been conceded.
5. Parity of Librarians with teachers has been denied with regard to retirement age. No mention has been made so far about parity in promotion.
6. No mention has been made of Instructors, Programmers and other academic staff.
7. There is no mention of the PRC recommendation for allowing the switch from CPF to GPF, providing the existing assured pension scheme to teachers appointed since 1.1.2004 and implementation of promotional benefits w.e.f. 1.1.96.
8. There is no mention of the PRC recommendation for an Academic Allowance of 1500/1200, nor of the Research Promotion Grant for new entrants of 2 lakhs / 5 lakhs.
9. Scholars of eminence who have made outstanding contributions in any field could no longer be appointed as Professor if they do not have a PhD.
10. Other conditionalities with regard to promotion procedures and service conditions are not yet known.

Comparison: Chaddha Committee and Government Decision

GP: Grade Pay  /  PB: Pay Band

Years of Service	Chaddha Committee	Government decision
Entry+ Advance increments at entry	PB3 with GP 6600 Assistant ProfessorNET or PhD 5 with Phd 3 with MPhil 2 with NET	PB3 with GP 6000 Assistant ProfessorNET or PhD 5 with PhD 2 with MPhil No increment for NET
After 4 / 5 / 6 years	PB3 with GP 7200 Assistant Professor in Sr Scale	PB3 with GP 7000 Assistant Professor
After 9 / 10 / 11 years	PB3 with GP 8000 Associate Professor	PB3 with GP 8000 Assistant Professor
After 12 / 13 / 14 years		PB4 with GP 9000 Associate Professor*
After 15 years in colleges	Senior Associate Professor PB4 with GP 8700	No promotion. Limited posts of Professors
After 15 years in university departments	Professor PB4 with GP 11000	Professor PB4 with GP 10000
After 25 years	Senior Professor PB4 with GP 12000 No quota	Professor PB4 with GP 12000 Quota of 10 %
After 27 years	Professor of Eminence 80000 fixed Quota of 10 %	—

*Selection required even for existing Readers & Lecturers in Selection Grade

Even a small reduction in GP means a huge reduction in total pay.

The extent of the difference can be appreciated if one looks at the entry basic pay (without allowances) for various GPs under the Sixth CPC. This difference can be seen in the following table:

Grade Pay	Pay in PB3	Basic pay on 1.1.2006 without allowances
5400	15600	21000
6600	18750	25350
7600	21900	29500
Grade Pay	Pay in PB4	Basic pay on 1.1.2006 without allowances
8700	37400	46100
8900	40200	49100
10000	43000	53000
12000	47100	59100

• If DA, HRA, other allowances and increments are taken into account, the actual differences would be much larger.
• Since the GPs announced for teachers are not mentioned in the CPC, the equivalent pay in the PB and, therefore, the actual basic pay is not known. The best case scenario could be that lecturers with GP of 6000 would draw a basic somewhere between the basic pay for GP of 5400 and 6600. The same would be the case for the basic pays for GP of 7000, 8000 and 9000. It could be worse if the pay in the pay band for teachers is fixed at the GP levels in the CPC immediately below the GPs given to teachers. For example, those with GP of 6000 could be given 15600 as associated with GP of 5400.
• The GPs of 7000 and 8000 for Assistant Professors are meaningless since all teachers irrespective of whether they have a PhD, MPhil or not would have crossed the associated basic pay by the time they are due for it.

It is clear that the hopes of the teaching community of a better deal to make the teaching profession attractive have been betrayed. After we were forced to resort to indefinite strike just for the announcement of the Government’s decision, we now must launch a struggle against the downgrading. We appeal to teachers to prepare for a determined and protracted struggle and to reject all attempts to mislead and divide us.

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