GUWAHATI, Sept 27 � Gauhati University Teachers� Association (GUTA) members today blocked the office of the Vice Chancellor (VC) and staged a day-long demonstration in support of their demands for implementation of the University Grants Commission�s (UGC�s) full pay package and promotion scheme.
The GUTA members also demanded retirement benefits, including pension and other allowances, at enhanced rates for their retired colleagues, besides immediate release of the arrear amounts against gratuity and earned leave at enhanced rates.
They also threatened to move the Gauhati High Court in support of their demand for raising the superannuation age to 65 years, citing a verdict of the Patna High Court on the issue.
Addressing mediapersons at the venue of the demonstration this noon, GUTA president Dr PJ Handique and general secretary Dr Akhil Ranjan Dutta also demanded release of the arrear amounts for the period between April 1, 2009 and April 30, 2010, due to the GU teachers against their revised pay scales before the Puja vacations.
They alleged Government�s discriminatory attitude towards GU. The University has been forced to introduce self-financing courses and thus the Government is gradually trying to move away from its responsibility to extend financial support to the University, they alleged.
The University is now made to face a deficit of around Rs 23 crore annually in matters of meeting its recurring expenses against salary, pension etc, not to speak of its developmental activities. Besides, the amounts due to the teaching and non-teaching staff of the University against gratuity have not been released since 2002, while the earned leave amounts are due to them since 2005.
The financial condition of the University is such that it could implement the UGC revised pay scales for its teachers partly with effect from May 2010, while the same pay scales were implemented in full in the Central Universities with effect from December 31, 2008, the GUTA office-bearers alleged.
The University has at present 39 full-fledged PG departments and it recently introduced around 15 self-financing courses. It has 298 teachers.
