Now, teachers at mercy of state govt

PATNA: THe extension of retirement age of university and college teachers in Bihar to 65 years and revised UGC payscale to them will be at the mercy of the state government which has sought to amend Section 76 of the State University Act.
“The amendment to the Act, approved by the cabinet on Tuesday, seeks to withdraw Section 76 which makes its mandatory for the state government to follow the recommendations of the University Grants Commission (UGC) in word and spirit.
The Section 76 added to the Act through an amendment in 2006 was a mistake,” said human resources development (HRD) department minister Hari Narayan Singh while speaking to TOI.
He, however, said that the government has no objection to raising the retirement age to 65.
“We can take a policy decision to this effect,” he remarked, stressing that UGC recommendations were meant for Central Universities and not for the state governments.
Teachers’ associations are already crying foul. “The development puts the teachers completely at the mercy of the state government. Before bringing this amendment, the state government should have talked to the teachers,” remarked Patna University Teachers’ Association (PUTA) general secretary Randhir Kumar.
He also objected to the proposed cut-off of 35 years service period being introduced, meaning that teachers who have completed 35 years of service will be made to retire even if they have not attained the age of 65.
Teachers point out that academics will not suffer if the government does not impose a rider because it will be very difficult to fill up the vacancies of teachers so soon.
They also point out that the government has been dragging its feet on implementation of revised payscales by forming a committee under senior IAS officer Vijay Prakash.
They alleged that the committee is not considering cases of teachers who have approached the court or are under vigilance scrutiny.