Punjab college librarians decry delinking of pay scales

The department of higher education department issued a corrigendum and downgraded the minimum pay of college librarians to ₹47,600 without any logic, says Punjab College Librarians’ Association head

The Punjab College Librarians’ Association (PCLA) has decried delinking of the pay scales of librarians from University Grants Commission (UGC) by the state government.

Association president Barjinder Pal Dhiman said the department of higher education had advertised 67 posts of college librarians along with 1,091 vacancies for assistant professors in government colleges, for which minimum pay of ₹56,100 was prescribed. (HT file photo)

Association president Barjinder Pal Dhiman said the department of higher education had advertised 67 posts of college librarians along with 1,091 vacancies for assistant professors in government colleges, for which minimum pay of ₹56,100 was prescribed.

“However, on Saturday, the department issued a corrigendum and downgraded the minimum pay of college librarians to ₹47,600 without any logic. For both of these posts, UGC-NET in the subject concerned has been prescribed as the minimum educational qualification for recruitment,” he added.

He said that college librarians enjoyed complete pay parity with assistant professors.

He further said that delinking of the pay scales of both these categories from UGC and further downgrading the minimum admissible pay of college librarians was not justifiable.

The association urged the Punjab government to restore the pay scales.