KOCHI: Days after the Mahatma Gandhi University directed them to refund the remuneration they were paid for the evaluation of answer sheets, the lecturers working in colleges affiliated to the varsity have finally received some reprieve with the intervention of Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan. The matter was brought to the governor’s attention by the Unnatha Vidyabhyasa Adhyapaka Sangham (UVAS).
According to UVAS president Dr Shivaprasad, the varsity has asked teachers under its affiliated colleges to refund the amount they received during the academic years from 2010-11 to 2015-16. “It is evident that the university does not even have a proper record of the different remunerations claimed by each teacher.
Some of them have been asked to refund amounts two-to-three folds higher than what they had received in the first place. Several teachers to whom the memorandum has been served had not entered the service in the given period, while some others had been on maternity or other such admissible leave.
Many who received the notice were not even present for the valuation process,” he explained, adding such mistakes pointed to the fact that the varsity was not maintaining proper records regarding teachers’ remunerations.
Some lecturers tried to get proof of the details of their pay through an RTI, but were instead informed that the varsity was unable to provide the requested information due to the pandemic situation, said Shivaprasad.
Meanwhile, as a punishment to the teachers for refusing to refund the amount as directed, the university has withheld the arrears of the Sixth Pay Commission (2006). “Besides this, the Seventh Pay Commission (2016) arrears also haven’t been granted to us even after three years,” he added.