BHUBANESWAR: Thousands of State Selection Board (SSB) lecturers serving in aided colleges across the state on Sunday staged a dharna at Mahatma Gandhi Marg in the city demanding UGC pay parity, service recognition and dignity.
Protesting under the banner of Odisha SSB Lecturers’ Association (OSLA), around 1,500 SSB lecturers alleged they were being paid at the PGT scale - Level 10 with a grade pay (GP) of Rs 4,600, instead of the UGC assistant professor scale at Level 10 and academic grade pay (AGP) of Rs 6,000.
They cited that Rule 9 of the Odisha Education Rules - 1974 clearly mandates that teachers of aided institutions should draw the same pay and benefits as their counterparts in government colleges. “However, this rule has been violated for years. The Higher Education department recruits, transfers and regulates SSB lecturers but denies them the status of government employees. This dual control structure has resulted in a situation where lecturers shoulder full academic responsibility without enjoying the legal or financial recognition they deserve,” alleged a lecturer.
The protesters demanded restoration of the UGC pay scale with Rs 6,000 AGP and full recognition of the principle of equal pay for equal work. They urged the government to redesignate all SSB lecturers as assistant professors, as mandated by the 2016 Gazette Notification and to recognise them formally as state government employees. The agitators also demanded full-service benefits, including HRA, pension, leave encashment and gratuity as well as eligibility for administrative positions within the Higher Education department.
