Amendments proposed but not allowed

DUTA GB Resolution, 5 February 2009

Amendments proposed by Amar Deo Sharma

The DUTA General Body Meeting was held today where a resolution was adopted listing ten demands and authorising the DUTA office bearers to take up these demands with the MHRD and the UGC urgently. It is unfortunate that the DUTA President cut short the meeting without allowing any real discussion though several teachers wanted to speak and amendments had been proposed. He did not even allow the amendments to be read out.

It is equally unfortunate that the DUTA President used his position to mislead the house on a number of issues such as the ridiculous idea that some teachers want to stop the implementation of the revised pay scales. This is completely false. Criticising negative aspects of the MHRD notification and taking up demands for relevant changes is the task of any self-respecting teachers’ association. This was done during all previous pay revisions and whatever improvements we achieved were the result of our collective struggles to press for those demands. The DUTA President also made the accusation that some teachers were creating disunity. It is our fervent appeal to him to realise that unity cannot be ensured by turning a blind eye to provisions in the MHRD notification that negatively affect a large number of teachers.

We provide below the text of the DUTA Resolution and the amendments proposed by Amar Deo Sharma and Rudrashish Chakraborty. As can be seen, these amendments list important additional demands and a demonstration at the MHRD to press for them. As can also be seen, several of these demands are crucial for all sections of the teaching community. The amendments have to be read along with the resolution adopted at the General Body meeting.

Resolution adopted by the Duta General Body Meeting on 5 February 2009

The DUTA General Body notes with satisfaction that all Associate Professors have been placed in PB-4. The DUTA General Body is of the considered view that the pre-revised grade of Readers (i.e. Rs.12000-420-18300) could, according to the VIth Pay Commission recommendations, be placed only in PB-4 and that the Chadha Committee’s recommendations to place Associate Professors (Readers) in PB-3 was patently wrong. However the DUTA General Body notes with dismay that the eligibility conditions have been increased to 12/13/14 years from the present 9/10/11 years for Ph.D./M.Phil./PG teachers; And the ‘Academic Allowance’ has been done away with.

The DUTA General Body demands that the MHRD Notification of 31 December 2008 be speedily implemented and its negative and anomalous features be removed.

The DUTA General Body demands that the following demands and unresolved issues should be actively pursued with the UGC and MHRD:

1. AGP of Rs.6600 (in place of Rs.6000), Rs.7600 (in place of Rs.7000).
2. Promotion to higher grade pay stages in Assistant Professor grade should be without interview as the same are pay based and do not entail any change in designation.
3. Total length of service should also be a criterion for promotion at all levels and not a certain minimum number of years in the feeder grade.
4. Evaluation by students should not be linked with promotion.
5. Removal of ‘quota’ in Professorship in Colleges.
6. AGP of Rs.12000 for Professors.
7. Age of superannuation for Librarians to be 65.
8. Parity of Computer Programmers / Instructors with teachers. (It should be ensured that Librarians are accorded the status of lecturers.)
9. One time option to go from CPF to GPF.
10. Old Pension Scheme for teachers appointed after 1.1.2004.

The DUTA General Body further demands that advance increments for Ph.D. / M.Phil. should be w.e.f 1.1.2006 and not 1.9.2008.

Further the University and College authorities should ensure holding of interviews for Readership / Reader grade who had become eligible for the same before the new regulations come into operation.

The DUTA General Body authorizes the DUTA office bearers to negotiate with the UGC and MHRD urgently on the above issues.

Amendments proposed to the Draft Resolution

I. The following demands should be added to the list of demands in the Draft Resolution:

1. Reduction of the number of years required to become Associate Professor to 9/10/11 years.
2. Placing all existing Readers / Lecturers in Selection Grade in PB-4 with Grade Pay 9000 and redesignating them as Associate Professor.
3. Minimum pay in the corresponding pay bands for all AGPs should be fixed at not less than what it should be in proportion to the minimum pay specified for each GP for government employees.
4. The minimum pay in the pay band, so specified for the concerned AGPs, should also be the base for fixation of pay of all incumbent teachers in various grades.
5. Academic Allowance for all teachers.
6. Assured promotion to Professor’s grade in colleges and departments for all teachers with or without Ph.D.
7. Parity of librarians with teachers in all respects including promotion, age of retirement and all other service benefits. Directly recruited Dy. Librarians should accordingly be at par with Associate Professor.
8. Those teachers who have not got the benefit of advance increments for PhD/MPhil at entry level or increments for in-service PhD/MPhil in the earlier schemes / pay revisions should also be given those increments now. Those teachers who have not got the benefit of enhanced increments for PhD/MPhil specified in the new scheme should be given the extra increments.
9. Advance increments for NET as recommended by the PRC.
10. During Study Leave, teachers should be paid salary along with all allowances and increments. For teachers getting financial support abroad, the amount of financial support for determining entitlement to Leave with Full Pay or Half Pay should be revised and brought in line with current realities. Sabbatical Leave / Study Leave for other academic purposes (apart from PhD/MPhil) should be available to all teachers both in university departments and in colleges.
11. Remuneration for guest lectures should be enhanced to Rs 1000.
12. Removal of any distinction in pay between directly recruited and promoted Associate Professors and Professors.
13. Removal of the restriction of PhD only in “the relevant discipline” for increments, promotional entitlements and other service benefits.
14. Research Promotion Grant of Rs. 2 lakhs / Rs. 5 lakhs as recommended by the PRC.
15. Advancing all promotional benefits of the last pay revision to 1.1.1996.
16. Removal of Ph.D. as essential qualification for promotion and appointment to professor. (This will particularly affect teachers in medical and other professional colleges).
17. Enhancement of Pay scales of teachers in RAK College of Nursing corresponding to their qualifications and work.

II. The following paragraph should be added after the paragraph “Further the University and College authorities …………… new regulations come into operation.”:

The DUTA General Body expresses grave concern at the delay in the revision of pay scales of teachers in engineering colleges and demands immediate announcement.

III. The following sentences should be added at the end of the last paragraph:

The DUTA General Body further resolves to hold a demonstration at the MHRD on 17 February 2009 when Parliament is in session to press for urgent resolution of its demands. The DUTA General Body warns the UGC against imposition of any negative conditions with regard to promotion and other service conditions.

Proposed by Amar Deo Sharma
Seconded by Rudrashish Chakraborty

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