EMN
DIMAPUR, AUGUST 28
THE Action committee of ANGCTA has clarified certain points which it claimed to be “misleading and erroneous statements” made by the Commissioner and Secretary, Higher and Technical Education (H & TE) and which appeared in the local media on August 26 and 27.A press release by Convener, ANGCTA Action Committee, Dr Maongsangba and member Amos Ovung today said the Commissioner & Secretary, HE&TE, in connection with the ongoing agitation of government college teachers, had made a reference to the Supreme Court judgments that the “retirement age and pay scale fixed by the U.G.C. are not subject to automatic application…. without any conscious decision being taken by the state in this regard”. ANGCTA termed the Commissioner & Secretary’s remark as superfluous, saying the UGC norms had been accepted and are already being implemented.
“Certainly, it is the prerogative of the state to adopt or not to adopt these norms and we cannot, nor do we claim these facilities as a matter of right. Our demand is merely, that the state government stands by what it has already committed to,” the ANGCTA release said.
Referring to a news item which appeared in a section of the local media (not the Eastern Mirror) on August 27, the college teachers said the government has asked the ANGCTA to be reasonable with its demands since the government has appointed teachers without following the required UGC norms and that UGC norms require a teacher to be a post-graduate plus NET plus Ph.D. But the UGC norms clearly state that the criteria for recruitment of lecturers is Post-Graduate + NET, which has been maintained since implementation of the UGC norms in 2010, the release said.
Therefore, the ANGCTA said, Ph.D is not mandatory. However, several incentives are given to those teachers who acquire this degree, it said.
Before the UGC issued these norms, the requirement for recruitment was Post-graduate, preferably with NET, the release said, adding the question of teachers being appointed without following UGC norms, therefore, does not arise. “This also begs the question of who appoints the lecturers, since the lecturers do not appoint themselves. Perhaps the government should do some introspection on itself,” the college teachers suggested.
The ANGCTA also pointed out that in the same news item, a reference was made to the UGC recommended retirement age which “the state govt was not inclined to increase from the current 60 to 65 years as it would open the Pandora’s Box …..”
It further sought to clarify that this demand was not originally on the agenda for the ongoing agitation. It was inserted into the minutes of the ANGCTA meeting by certain ANGCTA functionaries, without the sanction of the general body, for their own vested interests, it stated.
The release also said the demand of ANGCTA is simply that the government release the ROP arrears as committed by it on several occasions. “To any objective observer, surely this demand comes well within the realm of being “reasonable”? it said.
The ANGCTA also said in its notification dated August 26, 2013, the government had declared the release of pay arrears of government college teachers with “payment of 20% in cash as state share and the remaining 80% of the arrears which is the share of the Govt. of India shall be impounded /credited into the GPF accounts” and which shall be allowed to be drawn as and when the central government releases its share. This is in direct contravention of the instructions of MHRD vide letter no.F.1-2/2012–U.II dated 14.11.12 which clearly directs the state government to pay the full arrears in cash and to get the 80% central share reimbursed after producing the arrears payment evidence, it stated.
The ANGCTA reiterated that its ongoing agitation has been forced on it since all other alternate channels of redressal have been exhausted over the past couple of years and that this last resort has been taken in the hope that the government may give serious thought to its legitimate and genuine demand. The college teachers also sincerely hoped that the students will continue to support them while asserting that they are fully committed to ensure that lost time will be made up in full without any academic loss to the students.
