Contract faculty in Telangana varsities decry pay disparity

HYDERABAD: State universities in Telangana state are running on the shoulders of contract lecturers, albeit on far less salaries than regular lecturers get, according to the Telangana State Universities Contract Teachers- Joint Action Committee.

As per the latest data shared by the TSUCT-JAC with this newspaper, there are 50-70% more contract lecturers compared to regular teachers in each of the 11 state universities. For example, in Osmania University, there are 425 contract faculty apart from 325 regular staff on 1,230 total sanctioned posts till now, leaving 845 positions vacant.

In Kakatiya University, there are 90 regular staff members, compared to 250 contract faculty working with 298 vacant posts till date. Dr Dharma Teja, president of the steering committee of TSUCT said most teaching responsibilities had hence fallen on the shoulders of contract faculty in all universities, while regular staff took care of administrative work.

"It has been over seven years since the last recruitment drive took place in the state in 2013 even as the government, in its latest notification, has permitted recruitment on 1,061 posts against 2,791 total sanctioned budget posts in 2020," Dr Teja said.

He also raised the issue of pay parity among contract and regular staff in state universities saying, "A contract lecturer with over 25 years of experience is now getting about Rs 75,000 per month. Whereas, a regular lecturer is earning over Rs 2 lakh per month at this point. There is no way for us to compete for a post through an exam to get permanent employment, though we have spent years in this profession, it is just not fair".

Meanwhile, in a latest GO issued by the state government on the 7th PRC, the TSUCT members complained that the state government had not included contract teachers for pay hike.

In a statement, the teachers' union said, "The Telangana state government has issued GO No. 51 on June 11 with a new pay revision for regular, contract and outsourcing employees working in the state. This will benefit about 9-10 lakh employees working in about 37 departments in the state. But for the contract faculty working in 11 universities in the state that provide higher education, no pay revision has been mentioned."

The state government approved the 7th PRC and issued the order of salary allowance in 2018 for regular faculty members working in 11 universities. The pay hike is being applied to them from January 2016. Even then the government ignored the pay hike for contract faculty of various universities in Telangana, it added.

Meanwhile, the Telangana state council of higher education chairman, Prof T Papi Reddy clarified on the issue saying that the delay in recruitment so far had been due to pending court cases on the issue, as well as the absence of regular VCs for these universities. Now that these issues have been resolved, a raise in salaries as per eligibility and recruitment drive will take place soon, he said.

 

Gfx

 

Osmania University: Total sanctioned posts: 1,280

Permanent faculty: 325

Contract faculty: 425

Present vacancies: 845

 

Kakatiya University: Total sanctioned posts: 403

Permanent faculty: 90

Contract faculty: 250

Present vacancies: 298

 

Telangana University: Total sanctioned posts: 150

Permanent faculty: 75

Contract faculty: 51

Present vacancies: 73

 

Mahatma Gandhi University: Total sanctioned posts: 150

Permanent faculty: 36

Contract faculty: 46

Present vacancies: 115

 

Palamuru University: Total sanctioned posts: 150

Permanent faculty: 27

Contract faculty: 42

Present vacancies: 130

 

Satavahana University: Total sanctioned posts: 120

Permanent faculty: 24

Contract faculty: 37

Present vacancies: 100

 

Telugu University: Total sanctioned posts: 115

Permanent faculty: 20

Contract faculty: 45

Present vacancies: 97

 

Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University: Total sanctioned posts: 410

Permanent faculty: 155

Contract faculty: 252

Present vacancies: 232

 

JNUFA: Total sanctioned posts: 115

Permanent faculty: 28

Contract faculty: 52

Present vacancies: 31

 

RGUKT-Basar: Total sanctioned posts: 125

Permanent faculty: 0

Contract faculty: 120

Present vacancies: 128

 

Dr BR Ambedkar Open University: Total sanctioned posts : 86

Permanent faculty: 38

Contract faculty: 21

Present vacancies: 48