Ludhiana: Guest faculty sans salary for two months, warn of protest
The issue arose in September when 1,158 regular professors were appointed to sanctioned posts previously held by these guest faculty members.
Guest faculty members (assistant professors) in government colleges across the state have been left in financial distress as their salaries have not been paid for the past two months. The issue arose in September when 1,158 regular professors were appointed to sanctioned posts previously held by these guest faculty members.
Shivani Kapoor, a representative of the Guest Faculty United Front, revealed that seven affected professors from Government College for Girls (GCG) and SCD Government College in Ludhiana are among those struggling without pay. “Regular professors were appointed, leaving seven of the guest assistant professors unpaid since October,” Kapoor said.
Pawanpreet Kaur, a mathematics lecturer at the GCG, explained that nine assistant professors for mathematics are working against six sanctioned posts, leaving three without salaries. “It is unfair that despite teaching for years, we are now left without the government’s share of our salary,” she added.
Vishal Sharma, a history assistant professor from SCD College, shared his plight, noting that while they received a meager ₹11,600 from the Parent-Teacher Association Fund, the government’s share, which is nearly from ₹25,000 to ₹30,000, depending upon the tenure of the teachers, has been pending for two months. “Many of us have been serving for nearly 20 years, yet our posts were shown as vacant during the regular appointments of 1,158 teachers,” Sharma lamented.
Ravinder Singh, a state leader of the Guest Faculty United Front, said over 100 out of 795 guest faculty members in Punjab are affected. Despite assurances from chief minister Bhagwant Mann and education minister Harjot Singh Bains that a policy to safeguard their services was being drafted, no action has been taken. “I met CM Mann during his roadshow in Sangrur last month and education minister in October. Despite assuring us of a solution, the salaries have not been released yet,” he lamented.
“The financial strain has left many guest faculty members struggling to manage daily expenses, with calls for immediate intervention growing louder,” he added.
The affected lecturers would visit the directorate of public instructions (colleges) office on December 3 and if their demands remain unmet, they warn of a state-level demonstration.
Repeated attempts to contact DPI (colleges) director Sanyam Aggarwal and deputy director Harleen Bedi for their response went unanswered.