Ludhiana: Govt deadline breached as aided colleges falter

The department had issued instructions on October 16 to three grant-in-aid colleges in the district namely Ramgarhia Girls College, Guru Tegh Bahadur National College, Dakha, and SDP College for Women

Despite clear directions from the higher education and language department to regularise librarians and assistant professors working in aided colleges, Ramgarhia Girls College is yet to act on the order, even after nearly a month of its issuance.

The colleges were given 15 days to complete the process. (HT Photo)

The department had issued instructions on October 16 to three grant-in-aid colleges in the district namely Ramgarhia Girls College, Guru Tegh Bahadur National College, Dakha, and SDP College for Women, directing them to regularise librarians and assistant professors appointed against 1,925 vacant posts, once they completed three years of continuous service. The colleges were given 15 days to complete the process.

According to the official communication, seven librarians and seventy-one assistant professors across Punjab’s grant-in-aid colleges, who had completed three years of service by March 31, were eligible for regularisation. The department had instructed college managements to pay these teachers regular salaries under the 75% grant-in-aid scheme and complete the related verification in accordance with the norms of the Punjab government, the respective universities and the University Grants Commission (UGC).

However, more than 25 days after the order was issued, some colleges are yet to begin the process. On Tuesday, Varun Goel, executive member of the Punjab and Chandigarh College Teachers’ Union, wrote to the deputy director of the higher education department, pointing out the delay. He urged the authorities to issue strict directions to ensure that the pending cases are resolved in a time-bound manner.

In Ludhiana, 11 assistant professors from Ramgarhia Girls College, Guru Tegh Bahadur National College, Dakha, and SDP College for Women have been deployed against the sanctioned posts awaiting regularisation.

When contacted, the principal of SDP College for Women, where three teachers are affected, said that the management has already submitted the required report. The principal of Guru Tegh Bahadur National College, Dakha, confirmed that their report was also handed over to the department on Wednesday.

However, at Ramgarhia Girls College, where six teachers are awaiting regularisation, the process has been delayed. The college principal Ajit Kaur, explained that one of the teachers sought an extension of 15 days due to some issue, which stalled the submission of reports for the others as well. “We will be sending the complete report very soon,” she assured.