TIRUCHY: Over a hundred teaching and non-teaching staff of the 10 constituent colleges of Bharathidasan University complain they have not received salary for the past five months despite recent orders from the state government. To this, the university blamed a paucity of funds due to nearly Rs 100 crore the state government owes it in arrears.
A guest lecturer from Perambalur in one of the constituent colleges said, “My monthly salary is Rs 20,000. In our region alone 43 teaching and non-teaching staff have been working without salary for the past five months.”
Dr K Pandiyan, former state president of the Association of University Teachers (AUT), said, “The [state] government [in January] ordered BDU to pay more than 100 staff members of the constituent colleges their salaries until a permanent solution is arrived at and also assured to reimburse the money. The university administration, however, has not released salary for the past five months. Behind the state government and the university management are the staff who are left to suffer.”
He also blamed the state government for not granting “financial” approval for staff recruitment despite it finding unanimous approval in the last-held syndicate meeting. Conveying faculty’s disappointment in fund allocation towards payment of their salaries not finding mention in the state budget tabled last month, Pandiyan said mass petitions will soon be submitted with the university vice-chancellor pressing the faculty’s demands.
Meanwhile, sources said the state government already had to reimburse the university about Rs 100 crore towards meeting the expenses of the constituent colleges. This, in turn, has led to a paucity of funds, affecting the payment of salaries to the staff members, they added.
When contacted, university Vice Chancellor R Selvam told TNIE, “In the last syndicate and financial committee meeting convened in the presence of higher education department officials, it [government] assured to pay them [college staff members] salaries. No funds, however, were allocated even in its latest budget.”
Despite attempts, Principal Secretary of Higher Education Department A Karthik was unavailable for comment.