CHENNAI: The state government had recently announced that teachers of government arts and science colleges who retire in the middle of the academic year will be given an extension till May.
Taking a cue from this order, guest lecturers have urged the state government to pay them salaries for 12 months including May.
Currently, the guest lecturers receive their salaries for months June to April, and exam duty fees for May at the end of the respective months. Over 7,000 guest lecturers working in government arts and science colleges said they are being paid only a paltry sum of Rs 25,000 a month.
“We work the full year, but get a salary only for 11 months. In May, the majority of the examination work is done by guest lecturers. We are assigned as invigilators and involved in the examination conduct process, but we are paid only Rs 150 a day, which is unfair,” said V Thangaraj, president of Tamil Nadu All Government UGC-qualified Guest Lecturers Association.
“If the government can extend the retirement of permanent teachers and pay them salary also for the period, then why are they ignoring the demands of guest lecturers,” he added.
Guest lecturers alleged that the salary of permanent teachers is much more than guest lecturers but still the government doesn’t mind them paying.
“We are paid only Rs 25,000 and it is not paid regularly. On top of it, we are not paid for May. The majority of the guest lecturers are PhD degree holders and still we struggle every month to manage the expenses of our family,” said another guest lecturer.
Guest lecturers alleged that the state government pays them only for 11 months as they feel paying for 12 months will lead to demands for regularisation of jobs.