BENGALURU: Guest lecturers at Bangalore University (BU) are the latest victims of staffers being deployed for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) duty – many of them are yet to receive their salaries for July because of staff shortage to clear the payments. Until last Monday, a section of guest lecturers did not receive their compensations for both June and July, but on Tuesday, they reportedly received the June salary.
A university spokesperson said, “Most of our employees who work in the administration department are deployed on SIR duty. This is why we failed to pay salaries on time.” Sushma (name changed to protect anonymity), a guest lecturer who holds a doctorate, said she and her colleagues were more qualified than the university’s regular teaching staff, and yet they had to face discrimination.
“Whenever we went to the administration department to enquire, they told us that our salaries would be credited in a couple of days. We have been kept in the dark,” she said.
Sushma’s ordeal as a guest lecturer whose spouse earns and contributes to the family expenses, pales in comparison to the situations faced by many of her colleagues who are the sole breadwinners of their respective families.
“I am struggling to pay rent and medical expenses. I already had to take credit from people, who refuse to provide any more loans now. I have two children, one of whom is an infant. I am worried thinking that I would be incapable of paying the school fees of one of my children and meeting the other’s medical needs,” said Hiran (name changed to protect anonymity), a guest lecturer at the BU.
Another guest lecturer, who had to face a medical emergency, said, “I had to undergo a small surgery. I could not afford treatment at a private hospital. The government hospital I visited made me wait for three days. I struggled through July, and August has been unbearable,” he said.
