Punjab: Teachers in many aided colleges unpaid since Feb

Ludhiana: There is growing frustration among the teaching and non-teaching staff of govt aided colleges in the district and several other colleges in the state as they have not received their salaries for the past three to four months. Fed up with the inordinate delay, they are now demanding that they be paid regularly every month.

"Many of us last received our salaries in Feb. It's been four months since, one can well imagine our plight," rued a teacher.

Ludhiana has 22 aided colleges, while the state has 136.

In aided colleges, the colleges are supposed to pay the teachers their salaries and then seek reimbursement from the education department. But most of the time, the salaries get delayed as colleges wait for an earlier reimbursement.

Varun Goyal, executive member of Punjab and Chandigarh College Teachers Union (PCCTU) said, " There is always a delay of at least two to three months. Partly because of the delay in the release of reimbursements from the department, many colleges don't have the wherewithal to pay and wait for the reimbursements for releasing the pay for the subsequent months. Even colleges that have the financial means withhold the pay until the previous reimbursements are disbursed."

Chamkaur Singh, district president of the union said, "As far as the grant-in-aid colleges of the state are concerned, 95% of the salaries they pay their teachers is reimbursed by the department of higher education. They are supposed to pay the salaries first and then get the same reimbursed for recruitments done before 2004. For those recruited later, the govt pays 75% of the salaries and the rest is borne by the respective colleges."

"What we have been demanding from the department of higher education is that reimbursements should be done every month, rather than releasing the reimbursements of several months all at once," he added.

Goyal said, "In fact, the Haryana model should be adopted in Punjab, wherein colleges are supposed to submit the salary amount to the govt and the salaries are paid directly from the state treasury to the teachers."