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| Date dilemma |
Patna, May 10: Teachers of Patna University are caught between wrong timing of declaration of asset details and examination pressure.
Teachers of Patna University are perplexed as the letter which they have received from state human resource development (HRD) department for submission of their asset details asks them to submit the details latest by March 31.
However, most of the teachers have received the letter only a few days back in May.
Balram Tiwary, the head of department of postgraduate Hindi department, said: “When I saw the letter I was confused as the last date of declaring the asset was March 31 and I received the letter only a few days back.”
The confusion is not an isolated case.
There are many more teachers as well as non-teaching employees of Patna University who on receiving the asset declaration form got rattled and went to the university’s main office to get the status quo of the letter which they had received.
PU vice-chancellor Sudipto Adhikari said: “Though the letter states that teachers and non-teaching employees of the university have to declare their asset and income details by March 31, the varsity had received the letter in the third week of April and by first week of May letters were distributed among the teachers and non-teaching employees.”
Adhikari added: “Though the last date of submission of income and asset details has been extended to May 31, it has created a confusion among teachers and non-teaching employees of university.”
Randhir Kumar Singh, the Patna University Teachers’ Association (Puta) general secretary said: “The letter was issued by Prakash Chand Singh, special secretary, HRD on March 23 asking the teachers and non-teaching employees to declare their assets by March 31. However, Patna University registrar, Manoj Kumar received the letter on April 26 and three days later the principal of Patna College received the letter.”
“We have received the letter in the first week of May,” added Randhir.
The Telegraph has in its possession a copy of the letter, which the teachers of Patna University had received.
The letter issued from the HRD department states that all teaching/non-teaching employees (excluding the Grade IV employee) would have to submit their income details by March 31. However, it doesn’t state the reason as to why the letter was issued late.
According to sources, teachers of Patna University face a huge task as majority of teachers of the university are on examination duty as the graduation examination is going on.
Many teachers are on invigilation duty and they have to check more than 30 copies daily.
Tiwary said: “We are already overburdened with examination duty which will continue till May end and now we also have to submit our asset details.”
Another problem that the teachers would face is in filling up the form.
For example, the PU employees would have to declare the current market value of house/apartments in which they are staying apart from location of their residence and survey number, which they have to get from the municipal corporation.
Singh added: “The filling up of forms is a time-taking process and we teachers have little experience in filling such type of forms.”
Acording to sources, under movable assets the employees would have to provide details of weight and present value of jewellery they have in possession and the date of manufacture of vehicles they have in possession.
The three-page asset declaration forms contain around 22 columns that teachers and employees of the university have to fill during submission.