All government college teachers to come under UGC pay scale

GUWAHATI: The state government on Friday announced University Grants Commission (UGC) pay scales of teachers of all government higher education institutes as well as of medical and technical education institutes of the state. The salary revision will be in retrospective effect from April 1, 2016, finance minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said.

The institutes include government colleges, state universities, medical, dental and ayurvedic colleges, pharmaceutical institutes, engineering colleges and polytechnic institutes.

Sarma said this revision will benefit around 12,000 teachers. The state will have to bear an additional annual expenditure of Rs 166 crore annually for payment of revised salaries to teachers in higher education institutes while salaries for teachers in engineering and polytechnic institutes will attract Rs 9 crore additional burden to the state and another additional burden of Rs 58 crore annually for teachers in medical institutes.

The arrear payout will cost another additional Rs 650 crore to the state exchequer. "The arrears from April 1, 2016 will be paid in two installments. The state will pay its 50% share by Durga Puja and we will seek the remaining 50% component from the Centre," Sarma added.

Sarma said there about 8,800 teachers in universities and provincialised colleges will get Rs 476 crore as arrears while for engineering and polytechnics, the arrear will be Rs 27 crore and Rs 110 crore in case of medical, ayurvedic, dental, nursing and pharmaceutical colleges. There are around 1,800 teachers of the medical institutes and around 1,000 faculties in engineering and polytechnic centres, Sarma said.