Newmai News Network
Imphal | January 10
Teachers of government colleges Manipur on Sunday set a January 27 deadline to address their long pending demand for adoption of the 7th UGC Pay and Regulations, 2018 guideline.
The Federation of Government College Teachers’ Associations (FEGOCTA) while setting the deadline informed that even as the state government had in principle agreed to adopt the pay structure of the UGC for teachers of government colleges, an order regarding the matter was yet to be issued.
Addressing a press conference held at Manipur Press Club, FEGOCTA General Secretary Dr N Somorendro informed that the long pending demand of the teachers was discussed in a virtual meeting of the executive committee of the association on January 9. The January 27 deadline was decided during the meeting, he added.
Leaders of the FEGOCTA who attended the meeting jointly appealed to the Chief Minister and the Education Minister to issue an order latest by January 27.
"If the government fails to fulfil our demand within the stipulated time, teachers will resume the suspended agitations from next day, January 28, until the order is passed," Dr N Somorendro said. He further announced boycott of all online and offline classes, NAAC and other academic related activities along with different forms of democratic protests from January 28 onward.
Dr Somorendro urged the government not to invite the teachers to go on strike while asserting that they are aware that the student community will face the brunt of the agitation.
“We have no intention of doing anything that affects our students, but we are no longer able to bear the pain the state government is causing us. This is a sheer violation of our rights,” he said.
The Union ministry of Human Resource and Development (MHRD) had issued an order on November 2, 2018, to chief secretaries of all the states asking that the pay of the teachers of universities and colleges be revised as per the 7th pay structure. The ministry had also informed that the Central government will make 50% reimbursement to the state government towards arrear payment from January 1, 2016, to March 3, 2019. Even though almost two years have passed since the order was issued, the Manipur state government has failed to implement it, the General Secretary alleged.
Dr Somorendro said that UGC Pay and Regulations for college and university teachers were revised every ten years after Central pay revision.
