Andhra Pradesh varsities avoid GO-110 to hike wages for contract faculty

Vijayawada: Several universities in AP are not implementing GO- 110 issued by the state government to hike the wages of assistant professors working on contract basis since June.

The government issued the order in June last, increasing the wages of teachers up to Rs 40,000 for those having PhD and Rs 35,000 for those having no PhD. This was in addition to providing them Rs 1,000 per annum from the time they joined the university service.

The contract assistant professors have been eagerly waiting to get their revised wages.

Out of the 14 government-run universities, only Nagarjuna University started implementation of the GO by revising wages for the contract staff from July, 2022. Some universities started the process and some universities did an interpretation of the GO in their own ways and imposed certain conditions for the salary hike.

Rayalaseema university is insisting on faculty members having the PhD degree, NET and SLET as a precondition to have their salaries raised. This, even as the UGC had ordered that those who enrolled for PhD in 2009 are exempted from having NET and SLET qualifications.

So, those having PhD after they enrolled for it in 2009 are not sure whether they get the hike on par with the PhD holders or not.

Meanwhile, Andhra University hinted that it would not hike the salary to assistant professors working on contract basis, despite the GO-110.

The government order had made it clear that whatever be the burden of the hike effected, it must be borne by the universities themselves after passing a resolution in their executive councils.

The practice of universities was to hold executive council meetings in their own premises with their vice chancellors serving as chairman for each EC and taking important decisions pertaining to the day-to-day functioning of the universities. Now, however, the venue for the EC meetings has been shifted to the capital city.

The state council of higher education chairman and higher education special chief secretary serve as members in the executive council.

Several universities are holding a series of meetings with top government officials on the wage hike for the contract staff and accordingly pass a resolution in their respective EC meetings.

A team leader of the contract assistant professors working in AP universities said, “We appeal to the state government to direct the universities to hike their wages as per the GO-110 and pay also the wage arrears immediately. We had got the GO issued after waiting for a long time and any further delay for its implementation is unacceptable.”