BHUBANESWAR: Lecturers appointed to various aided degree colleges through State Selection Board (SSB) have demanded revision in pay, at par with their counterparts in government colleges. They have threatened to wear black badges at their workplaces if their demand is not met by the state government by September 5 (Teachers’ Day).
The lecturers are demanding increase in their Grade Pay (GP) from the existing 4,600 to 5,400 with retrospective effect from 2016. Speaking to mediapersons here on Thursday, secretary of Odisha SSB Lecturers’ Association Lambodar Rout said despite being recruited to the post of lecturers in aided degree colleges through an open merit-based selection system by the SSB, they are deprived of their basic dues and being paid salary as per GP-4,600, he said. The basic pay in the GP-4,600 band is Rs 44,900 whereas GP-5,400 has a basic salary of Rs 56,100.
Stating there is a large anomaly in the salaries of SSB recruited lecturers in aided colleges and those appointed in government degree colleges despite both doing the same work, members of the association said their salary in GP-4,600 is equal to the pay scale of higher secondary school teachers (Post-Graduate Teachers or PGTs).“Despite meeting all the requisite criteria laid down by the government to teach UG and PG students, we are placed in a lower pay scale and status than our government counterparts,” Rout added.
In 1989 and 1999, lecturers of both aided colleges and government colleges were recruited in the same pay scale. However, after discontinuation of recruitment of lecturers in both aided and government colleges, Odisha Public Service Commission (OPSC) in 2014 recruited lecturers for government colleges with a pay scale of Rs 15,500 to Rs 39,100 under GP-6000 (as per 6th Pay Commission). On the contrary, in 2016, SSB recruited lecturers for aided colleges in pay scale of Rs 9,300 to Rs 34,88 under GP-4,600 (as per ORSP Rule,2008) which is the pay scale of PGTs.
This, the members, said is violation of section 9 of Odisha Education (Recruitment and Conditions of Service of Teachers and members of Staff of Aided Educational Institutions) Rules, 1974.They further stated at present, the pay scale of aided school and high school teachers is equal to their respective counterparts in government and high schools under the School and Mass Education department.