Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Oct 30: The Jammu & Kashmir Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) President Darshan Rana has alleged exploitation of contractual (temporary) teachers at Jammu University and other higher educational institutions in the Union Territory.
“Even as the Supreme Court of India has recently ordered the States to pay at least the minimum of the regular UGC scale (Level-10, Rs 57,700 basic – approximately Rs 70,000-Rs 100,000 per month with allowances) to the teachers in Universities and higher education, the situation in Jammu & Kashmir remains shamefully regressive,” he said, in a statement issued here today.
He alleged that highly qualified scholars – PhD and NET/SET holders – are being forced to teach in universities on temporary contracts for just Rs 28,000-Rs 30,000 per month.
“This is not only a violation of human dignity but also a direct breach of the constitutional principle of equal pay for equal work,” said Mr Rana and pointed out that according to the UGC 7th Pay Commission, the minimum entry pay for an Assistant Professor (Level-10) is Rs 57,700 per month, whereas Jammu University and other Government institutions continue to ignore this national standard.
“These contractual teachers are performing the same duties as regular faculty – teaching, conducting exams, supervising research – but are denied fair pay, annual increments, job security, and basic social benefits. This dual standard has created deep frustration among our educated youth,” Mr Rana said.
The BSP leader said that forcing highly qualified teachers to work for Rs 28,000 per month is nothing short of modern-day academic slavery. “It devalues education and undermines the future of our students,” he said and demanded immediate implementation of the UGC-prescribed minimum scale (Rs 57,700 to Rs 70,000 per month) for all contractual Assistant Professors and Lecturers across Jammu & Kashmir.
Also demanding d a clear, time-bound policy for regularization of all long-term contractual teachers, Mr Rana warned that if the Government and university administration fail to take immediate corrective steps, the BSP will launch a “Teachers’ Dignity Movement” to secure justice for the teaching community.
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