Bhubaneswar, Dec. 12: Teachers of six government-run universities in the state will go on a "total cease work" for an indefinite period from January 2 demanding implementation of the pay revision recommended by the University Grants Commission.

The teachers of Utkal University, Ravenshaw University, North Odisha University, Sambalpur University and Berhampur University, under the banner of Federation of University Teachers' Association (Fouta), will stage a demonstration on December 16 in protest against "non-fulfilment" of their charter of demands by the state government.

Their demands include: i) enhancement of superannutation age up to 65 years, ii) implementation of career advancement scheme, iii) redesignation as assistant and associate professors and iv) pay fixation and increment according to UGC norms.

The teachers said that despite several pleas to the government and the chancellor, these demands had not been implemented.

A delegation of Fouta had met the higher education secretary in October and got a written commitment from him for implementation of the revised UGC pay scale.

"It is sad that even the recommendations of vice-chancellors and the varsity syndicates are not being honoured. We had staged a peaceful protest in August. But it seems that the government has turned a deaf ear to our demands," said Utkal University professor S.K. Tripathy.

Earlier, higher education minister Pradeep Panigrahi had also assured Fouta that their demands would be looked into.

"We showed respect to the authorities and believed in their commitment. But, we will not wait any more," said Fouta convener B. Parasar.

The teachers said that their demands should be implemented to make them "comparable and competitive" with teachers of other states as well as with teachers of central government-run institutions.

"Implementation of our demands is also important for attracting quality teachers to the state universities," Parasar said.

"A continuous and deliberate process of neglect by the government is leading us towards suffering from an inferiority complex. This, in turn, affects the quality of education in the state," he said.