New Delhi, Sept. 5: The Centre has accepted a University Grants Commission request for more time to finalise hikes for teachers amid fears that the delay might trigger a backlash ahead of elections.

UGC chairman Sukhdeo Thorat told the human resource development ministry on Wednesday that a commission pay review committee would need an extension to complete its report, ministry officials said.

Thorat’s appeal came despite appeals from both HRD minister Arjun Singh and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi to the committee to meet its appointed deadline.

The tenure of the committee, headed by G.K. Chaddha — a member of the Prime Minister’s economic advisory council — ends tomorrow. Its report was expected today.

The ministry has accepted Thorat’s request but has asked the committee to try and submit at least “some parts” of its recommendations by mid-September, sources said.

The committee, it is learnt, wants to submit the entire report “in one go”.

An official extension is yet to be announced, the sources said. “We are uncomfortable with the idea of the report spilling into October. What if unforeseen political developments force the government to go for elections? If the model code of conduct kicks in, we can’t implement the pay hike,” a ministry official said.

The Chaddha committee report was meant to coincide, as best as possible, with the notification of the Sixth Pay Commission, the sources said.

The pay commission’s recommendations, accepted by the cabinet last month, cover all central employees and set a benchmark for state government pay panels to follow.

But these are not valid for academic staff — teachers and librarians — in autonomous institutions under the Centre, such as universities, the IITs or the IIMs.

When the pay commission report was finalised and accepted in August, the teachers of 19 central universities went on strike demanding early finalisation of their salary hikes. Sonia and Arjun spoke to the committee after the strike.

The UGC panel report, once finalised and notified, will directly cover all teachers at central autonomous institutions.

State universities have traditionally based their teacher salaries on UGC scales, so the committee’s report is expected to affect all higher education teachers in the country.

The UGC committee, apart from recommending a hike, has been asked to suggest “ways and means of attracting and retaining talented persons in the teaching profession”.

Most universities, and the IITs and IIMs, suffer from a severe shortage of faculty members. The committee was set up last September.