The Joint Action Council representing college and university teachers will observe ‘Justice Day’ on Wednesday by wearing badges and holding demonstrations in front of all State universities.
The JAC, along with the All India Federation of Universities and Colleges Organisations, is demanding that the Ministry of Human Resource Development revise the UGC pay scale. The revision would bring marginal benefits and relief to retired employees, the council has said.
“The MHRD must got its priorities right,” said N. Settu, JAC secretary.
The teachers’ bodies have a 12-point set of demands, including 100% financial assistance for uniform and simultaneous implementation of the 7th Pay Commission.
It has demanded removal of the API and rejected the 2004 Pension Scheme for teachers. It has also demanded that the budget for higher education be increased up to 6% of the GDP.
Strengthening UGC
The teachers want the Ministry to strengthen the UGC and the AICTE and withdraw the plan of graded autonomy for universities and colleges. It also wants the Ministry to dispense with the insistence on NET, SLET for Ph.D registration.
The Association of University Teachers, of which the JAC is a unit, has demanded that the government hold regular consultations with teachers’ bodies.