Sido Kanhu Murmu University

Dumka, Aug. 18: Bizarre but true. Teachers in the science department of two constituent colleges of Sido Kanhu Murmu University (SKMU) are actually paid less than fourth grade employees.

For over two decades, 13 science teachers posted in Deoghar’s AS College and SRT College in Dhamri have been taking home salaries way less than what their colleagues posted in other colleges under the same university get.

These teachers were recruited by the governing bodies of the respective colleges, then part of Bhagalpur University, back in 1983. When SKMU came into existence in 1992, the two colleges were affiliated to it but the teachers were not absorbed on the university rolls.

They continued to be paid from the internal revenue of the colleges. After the formation of Jharkhand, which adopted the university statutes of Bihar, the pay structure of the teachers remained the same.

According to sources, the 13 teachers were absorbed by the university in 2003, but their appointments were cancelled a few months later on technical grounds. However, they continued to teach in the two colleges. In 2008, after fulfiling certain criteria, they were once again made part of the university but on a pay scale at par with what is paid to grade four employees.

In February 2008, the university administration did make them eligible for payment as per Fifth Pay Commission scales (Rs 8000-Rs 13,500), but that too was stopped after a few months on “technical” grounds.

Sanjay Kumar Singh, who teaches botany in SRT College, said apart from lower pay, they had also been deprived of promotions and other benefits. While those recruited along with them in other colleges were now professors, they continued to languish as lecturers on salaries of around Rs 12,000 under the static pay scale of Rs 2,200-Rs 4,000, which was less than the Rs 15,000 peons posted in both colleges got.

What is more worrying is the varsity administration, following UGC guidelines, has directed all teachers to refrain from giving private tuitions, making their financial position even more precarious.

Varsity officials refused to comment on the issue. While registrar Manoj Kumar Sinha said he had assumed office recently and wasn’t aware of the details, finance officer Awadh Prasad said the matter did not pertain to his department.