No vaccination, no benefits for varsity staff: Maharashtra minister

AURANGABAD: Minister for higher and technical education Uday Samant said on Friday that they have made vaccination “strict” in the universities, and teachers, professors and non-teaching staff should take both doses of the vaccine or else they may not be given any “benefits”.

He said such a decision was taken as students have been asked to get the vaccine as well. When asked whether the salaries too would be affected, Samant said that the vice-chancellors have been asked to take a call about which benefits should be withheld. The VCs have been asked to serve notice and give the staff 15 days to respond. “If they do not respond, the VC will take a call. We may have to take that decision too. It is not that I have a personal benefit in the teachers getting vaccinated,” he said.
Samant made the statement on Friday during his visit of Aurangabad. Speaking to the media, he said, “Vaccination has been made mandatory for all the teachers, professors, principals, or else all of their benefits will be stopped.” He added that while they were “asking all the students to get vaccinated and if the students question about the teachers not being vaccinated, we will not have any answer.”
He even warned the teachers’ associations unwilling to get vaccinated. Samant said, “Certain teacher associations citing that they are imparting online education, are unwilling to get vaccinated. No one will be allowed to do it. All the professors, academic staff, non-teaching staff, principals will have to take both the doses.”
8,000 vacancies to be filled
Minister for higher and technical education Uday Samant said they would be filling vacancies of 8,000 professors in another seven months. “The state has approved recruitment of professors and principals. In the first phase, 2,088 posts will be filled. Old pension scheme will be implemented for 5,000 professors,” said Samant.