Engg. teachers to get revised pay

By Our Special Correspondent

BANGALORE, JAN. 31. The teachers in engineering colleges have agreed to call off their agitation consequent to the State Government conceding their demand to implement the revised pay scales of the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE).

The office-bearers of the Engineering Colleges Teachers' Association, who called on the Minister of State for Higher Education, Dr. G.Parameshwar, are reported to have assured the Government that it was only a formality now for them to call off their indefinite agitation which was on for the past two days. They said they had to call for an executive committee meeting of the association which had to endorse the resolution to call off the agitation.

Earlier the Government took a decision suo motu to implement the revised pay scales of the AICTE. The revision will, however, be ``pending approval'' since the AICTE's package for teachers in engineering colleges is yet to be approved by the Union Ministry of Human Resource and Education. The package includes various aspects governing technical education including the number of teaching hours.

Dr. Parameshwar told presspersons that the revision of pay scales would directly benefit the teachers of 16 engineering colleges some of which were run by the Government, some others by the university and others which were aided by the Government. There were over 2,000 teaching staff in these colleges and the pay revision would cost the Government around Rs. 16.5 crores a year apart from the huge expenditure by way of payment of arrears from January 1, 1996. Twenty per cent of the arrears would be paid in cash and the rest through National Saving Certificates.

He said the teaching staff at the Regional Engineering Colleges (REC) were already covered by the AICTE revised pay scales and this included the Karnataka Regional Engineering College at Suratkal in Dakshina Kannada. There were 17 RECs in the country. Each teacher would get over Rs. 1 lakh as arrears. The revised pay scales of the AICTE were nearly on par with those of the UGC, and the minimum pay for a teacher would be Rs. 16,000 a month and the maximum Rs. 36,000, he added.

Following the indefinite strike by teachers in engineering colleges, the Visvesvaraya Technology University was compelled to postpone the practical examinations which were scheduled to commence on January 29. The theory examinations were scheduled to start on February 18. The same is the situation in the neighbouring States, including Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, which have also implemented the revised AICTE pay scales subject to ``pending approval'' by the Union Government.

Asked if the Government would also concede the demands of the teachers of polytechnics and industrial training institutes, which also came under the purview of the AICTE, Dr. Parameshwar said the revision in their pay scales was also under Government's consideration.

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Section  : Regional
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