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Regularisation row: Punjabi varsity constituent colleges’ teachers sit on indefinite strike
The 90 teachers, working on contractual basis, are protesting under the banner of PUCTA; they have boycotted all academic work, including exam duty and are demanding regularisation of their services
Demanding job regularisation, the teachers working at 13 constituent colleges affiliated to the Punjabi University, Patiala, went on an indefinite strike from Friday.
The teachers, under the banner of Punjabi University Constituent Colleges Teachers’ Association (PUCTA), have decided to boycott all academic work, including examination duties, till their demands are met. At least 90 teachers are working in different academic disciplines at these colleges across state, on a contractual basis, drawing a salary of ₹44,000 each.
PUCTA president Lovdeep Sharma said, “The teachers have approached the university authorities and the state government repeatedly, demanding regularisation of their services, but both have failed to pay any heed to their pleas.”
“We were recruited through a proper channel, following the guidelines of the University Grants Commission (UGC). However, when it comes to regularising our services, the authorities have been citing financial crisis as the main reason for not fulfilling our demands,” Sharma said.
Members of the association held a meeting on Thursday and decided to protest on their respective college campuses from Friday. “We will lift the protest only after the university authorities agree to meet our demands,” he added.
Another teacher Gurjeet Kaur said that the association members had met vice-chancellor (V-C) Prof BS Ghuman and assured him that the teachers are ready to work on basic salary during the probation period, if the authorities agree to regularise their services.
“This would not have put any added financial burden on the university. But the authorities have failed to budge,” she said.
The teachers added that as per the UGC guidelines, at least 80% of staff in college is required to be appointed on regular basis, however, only 20% of staff is working on regular basis.
The constituent colleges are situated at Mansa, Sardulgarh, Bahadurpur, Barnala, Benra (Dhuri), Chuni Kalan, Dhilwan, Ghanaur, Ghudda, Jaito, Miranpur, and Moonak.
V-C CHAIRS MEETING ON CANTEEN ISSUE
With canteens and cafeterias continuing to remain shut on the varsity campus for the third consecutive day, the Punjabi university vice-chancellor Prof BS Ghuman held a meeting with senior functionaries in Patiala on Friday.
During the meeting, which was also attended by dean academic affair Prof GS Batra and registrar Prof Manjit Singh Nijjar, the varsity has issued stringent instructions to the owners of these private canteens and cafeterias regarding running business on varsity campus.
The students had locked down all private canteens running on campus on Wednesday, and alleged that these eateries were serving unhygienic and poor quality food, and charging arbitrarily.
The spokesperson said that the owners have been instructed to fix prices of food items and put rate lists on display so as to keep check on their monopoly in selling products at exorbitant prices.
“We have also directed them to maintain cleanliness in the canteens and cooking areas, besides providing RO water to the students,” the spokesperson said.
Dean academic affairs Prof Batra said that they also held a joint meeting with the canteen owners and students to resolve the issue at the earliest.
“We have directed the owners of the canteens to ensure that they follow guidelines set by the varsity so as to avoid punitive action,” Batra said.
He added that a senior medical officer has been asked to conduct surprise checking at these canteens. He said that the varsity is soon going to allot at least eight shops through e-tendering.
Meanwhile, Secular Youth Federation of India (SYFI) president YAdwinder Singh said that they will not allow the varsity to open these canteens until the cafeterias and canteens are allotted through e-tendering.
