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Chennai, Nov 17 (IANS) Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) president Anbumani Ramadoss on Monday accused the DMK government of ‘deliberately’ discriminating against teachers working in government-aided colleges and denying them guaranteed promotions and financial benefits under the Career Advancement Scheme (CAS).
He said the government was attempting to systematically weaken aided institutions and deprive both teachers and students of their legitimate educational rights.
According to Ramadoss, the state government issued a government order (GO) on January 11, 2021, to implement promotion under CAS for teachers in government universities, government colleges and government-aided colleges.
The promotion rules were published on May 4, 2021. While government-college and university teachers are getting promotions with corresponding salary increases and arrears, aided college teachers are being deprived of these benefits, he said.
He said that under CAS norms, assistant professors in aided private colleges should be promoted as senior assistant professors four years after obtaining their PhD, or within five years if they do not have a PhD.
Ramdas said their salaries should also be revised accordingly, adding that senior assistant professors who have completed five years of service are eligible for promotion to Assistant Professor (selection grade), and those who have completed three years in that grade should be promoted as Associate Professor.
“After three more years, they become eligible for promotion to the rank of professor,” he said.
Ramdas pointed out that while many aided college teachers qualify for these promotions, their pay revisions – effective from the date of promotion – have been denied in most districts.
He claimed, “Of the eight regions under the Directorate of Collegiate Education, only Coimbatore and Thanjavur districts have implemented both promotions and pay hikes. In Chennai, Tiruchi, Madurai, Vellore, Dharmapuri and Tirunelveli regions, teachers have received promotions on paper, but are yet to receive the revised salaries and arrears.”
He said withholding financial clearance could also prevent aided college teachers from joining the Integrated Financial and Human Resource Management System (IFHRMS), which is required to recognize promotions.
He said that without involving IFHRMS, newly-promoted associate professors cannot guide PhD scholars.
He accused the government of punishing students by targeting teachers, saying, “If promotions had been properly recognized, more than 1,000 students could have been enrolled for doctoral research in the last three years.”
Ramdas reminded that Higher Education Minister K. Ponmudi (incorrect in Malayalam; original mentions KV Chezhiyan) had assured teacher representatives on 23 June that the revised salaries and outstanding July salaries would be released in the bill.
“In typical DMK style, this promise was also broken,” he said, alleging that the government’s action was not accidental but part of a larger plan to dismantle aided institutions.
He said the DMK had earlier attempted to convert aided private colleges into private universities – effectively ending government support – until sustained opposition from the PMK and teachers’ unions forced it to withdraw.
Extending full support to the indefinite hunger strike and protest to be launched by various university teachers unions from December 12, Ramdas demanded that all the pending rights of aided college teachers be given immediately.
–IANS
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