VIJAYAWADA: Nearly 5,000 contract lecturers, who have been seeking regularisation for over 24 years, continue to face delays despite the passage of the Contract Employees Regularisation Act, 2023. Although the Act was passed in the Assembly on September 27, 2023, and gazetted on October 20, 2023, the regularisation process has been stalled due to the enforcement of the General Election Code.
Under Government Order (GO) MS No. 114, the State government outlined guidelines to regularise contract employees in line with Act 30/2023. Of the 13,671 contract employees identified across 117 government departments, 10,117 were deemed eligible for regularisation. However, over 5,000 contract lecturers serving in junior, degree, and polytechnic colleges are still awaiting their regularisation, which has been delayed by the election restrictions.
These lecturers have worked under the contract system since 2000, following GO 142 and 143, and have been advocating for permanent employment for over two decades. Despite their continuous efforts, only minimal progress has been made, with 3,000 employees from other departments already regularised. Among the lecturers still waiting are 3,618 junior lecturers.
The contract system was officially abolished in 2016, but the State government committed to regularising employees who were in service as of June 2, 2014. The Nidhi Portal under the Finance Department was set up to collect data on eligible employees, but the process for the lecturers remains incomplete. Chairman of the Contract Lecturers Joint Action Committee (JAC), Kumarakunta Suresh, expressed disappointment over the delay and urged the government to resume the regularisation process.
He mentioned the lecturers’ trust in Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, who had promised to address this issue during the Prajagalam in Kurnool. The lecturers hope that the new government, which has been in office for five months, will expedite the process. Kalluri Srinivas, Co-Chairman of the JAC, highlighted that HRD Minister N Lokesh has been briefed on the issue, and the file is currently under review by the Advocate General for legal advice.These lecturers have worked under the contract system since 2000, following GO 142 and 143, and have been advocating for permanent employment for over two decades. Despite their continuous efforts, only minimal progress has been made, with 3,000 employees from other departments already regularised. Among the lecturers still waiting are 3,618 junior lecturers.