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Panjab University syndicate nod to revised pay scales for teachers as per 7th pay commission
Move to benefit over 600 permanent faculty members after final nod from the senate; hike proposed to be released in November salary
Two months after the Punjab government announced to implement the revised University Grants Commission (UGC) pay scales as per the 7th pay commission on September 5, the Panjab University syndicate on Monday adopted the government notification, paving the way for salary revision of over 600 permanent faculty members.
The syndicate – varsity’s executive body – also approved all recommendations of the university’s board of finance (BoF) made during a meeting in October. All approvals will now be taken up by the PU senate for final approval.
A long-standing demand, the revision of pay scales will result in higher salaries for teaching staff — that has been held up since 2018 due to the Punjab government’s delay in implementation.
The university senate had already adopted the 6th Punjab pay commission for its around 3,000 non-teaching staff in March. However, the staffers have not been given the benefit so far. A university official said the process of pay fixation as per the revised scales was already underway.
Hike, arrears to cost PU ₹277 crore
As per varsity’s revised budget, which was approved by the syndicate in its meeting on Monday, it includes the one-time burden of ₹277 crore due to the implementation of revised pay scales for both teaching and non-teaching staff, along with ₹13.28 crore additional monthly cost from November, when the revised pay scales are proposed to be released.
The total expenditure for the fiscal stands at ₹992.29 crore, of which the expenditure on salaries alone amounts to ₹412 crore.
With the varsity’s internal income and annual maintenance grants coming to only ₹677 crore, PU has proposed a supplementary grant of ₹314 crore to bridge the revenue gap.
The university annually receives maintenance grants from both the UGC and the Punjab government, usually in the 80:20 ratio.
PU’s BoF had also recommended, now approved by syndicate, that the Union ministry of education/UGC and government of Punjab may reset/redetermine the yearly amount of salary grant to be released to PU in view of the implementation of revised scales.
“It was a much-needed decision after the notification by the Punjab government. Now, we hope that after its adoption, the salaries of teachers are revised at the earliest,” said Mritunjay Kumar, president of the Panjab University Teachers’ Association (PUTA).
Estimated budget for next year
As per the budget estimates approved by the syndicate for the next financial year, the revenue expenditure has been pegged at ₹761.7 crore — with salary costs expected to increase to ₹480 crore. The pay revision for the teaching and non-teaching staff will translate into an additional cost of ₹39.86 crore in 2023-24.
The total revenue for PU in the next financial year, meanwhile, has been proposed at ₹761 crore and will include ₹309 crore internal income and ₹333 crore from annual maintenance grants from the UGC and the Punjab government.
The university has proposed a supplementary grant of ₹118 crore for 2023-24 as well.
Nod to promotion policy for dental institute faculty
The PU syndicate also decided to implement the Dynamic Assured Career Progression (DACP) scheme of the Union ministry of health and family welfare for the promotions of faculty at the varsity’s Dr Harvansh Singh Judge Institute of Dental Sciences and Hospital.
The varsity’s board of finance (BoF) had last month endorsed the implementation after receiving a recommendation from a panel.
The decision, which is subject to the approval of the senate, will benefit the nearly 40 teachers of the dental institute, who have been awaiting the implementation for the same. If approved, DACP shall be recommended for the dental faculty from October 29, 2008, and the teachers who become eligible for the promotion after this date shall be governed under the scheme for future promotional avenues.
Speaking of the development, faculty member Ikreet Singh Bal said, “After a wait of more than a decade, we have finally been given our due. We are thankful to the syndicate, vice-chancellor and the PUTA president, institute principal for the part they played in this.”
Faculty members had earlier argued that the scheme has already been enforced for medical/dental university teachers in all universities across the country.
Though the majority of BoF members, during its last meeting, resolved that the promotion policy be implemented from October 29, 2008, the representatives of the ministry of education/University Grants Commission (UCG) and government of Punjab maintained that it be implemented from the prospective date only.
As many as 37 faculty members had in May 2019 approached the Punjab and Haryana high court, arguing that the purview of PU’s new promotion policy excluded the dental institute’s faculty.
Thereafter, HC, in its June 2019 order, had directed PU and the Dental Council of India (DCI) to decide on a promotion policy for the dental faculty. Before the matter came up in the senate in March, the PU syndicate had in July 2020 resolved to approve the report committee’s initial recommendations.
Other highlights
Adoption of the notification to implement the central service rules in PU’s affiliated aided colleges situated in Chandigarh, was deferred and will be taken up in the next meeting.
A syndicate member, Jagtar Singh, said, “We want it to be implemented immediately and it will benefit around 480 teachers of the aided colleges.” The syndicate also deferred the agenda regarding the grant of temporary extension of affiliation to the management institute of DAV College, Sector 10, for the 2021-22 session.
