Panjab University panel approves changes to limit number of contract staff in private affiliated colleges

In a move to reduce dependence on contract staff, teachers in private colleges affiliated to Panjab University will now be appointed on contract basis only when absolutely necessary and when the student-teacher ratio does not meet the standards laid down in the Commission on .university scholarships for 2018 (UGC) Regulations.

To meet UGC norms, the Panjab University (PU) Rules Committee has approved changes in the ‘Conditions of Service and Conduct of Teachers in Government Affiliated Colleges’. Subsequently, the terms of service provision contained in the PU Calendar were changed and approved by the PU Vice-Rector.

Among other changes, as per UGC Regulation No. 12, the number of such appointments should not exceed 10% of the total number of faculty posts in the university. The qualifications and selection procedure for their appointment should be the same as for a permanently appointed teacher. The fixed remuneration paid to such teachers should not be lower than the gross monthly remuneration of a full-time assistant professor.

Further, such appointments should not be made initially for more than one academic session and the performance of each such novice teacher should be checked for academic performance before re-appointing him on a contractual basis for the next session.

Further, as per UGC Order No. 11, the minimum probationary period for a teacher will now be one year, extendable by a maximum of one year in case of unsatisfactory performance.

Each teacher will get the salary and allowances as per the UGC Rules, 2009, whereas earlier it was as per the minimum pay scale fixed by the university.

The proposal to change the working conditions was initiated by Jagwant Singh, chairman of the regulations committee, after obtaining the approval of the vice-chancellor in July 2023. The changes were approved by the regulations committee at its meeting in October 2023 and the same were considered by the syndicate at its meeting this month. However, they were referred back to the regulatory commission.

After deliberations, the committee, at its meeting on May 29, 2024, decided to continue work on the clauses, which reached consensus and were finally approved by the Vice-Rector.

Jagwant said some of these fixes should have been made decades ago and addressed many issues over which the university had been repeatedly litigated.

According to the Punjab higher education department, PU has 53 privately funded colleges from districts such as Fazilka, Ferozepur, Hoshiarpur, Ludhiana, Moga and Muktsar.

According to the University Development Board, PU, ​​in Chandigarh, 10 private colleges are affiliated to PU.