Mangaluru:
The guest faculty teaching in various government polytechnic and engineering colleges across the state have complained that they have not been paid salaries regularly. Currently, the salary has been pending for the past four months.
Addressing the media on Tuesday, M Prashantha, president of Akhila Karnataka Sarkari Polytechnic Arekalika Upanyasakara Sangha, Puttur, said they have never received their salary on time. “It is always late and is affecting 1,200 plus guest lecturers working in 89 government polytechnic colleges and 13 government engineering colleges across the state.”
Prashantha said that they have met and spoken to people’s representatives recently to sort out the issue.
Listing out various issues that guest lecturers or part-time lecturers face, he said that there is always a delay in salary payment. “Presently, we are awaiting the salary of the concluded semester for the months of March, April, May, and June 2023. Secondly, the guest lecturers had received only one increment in the past 14 years as compared to three increments given to other guest lecturers (UG colleges). We request the government to raise our salary from the present Rs 12,500 per month, paid for seven to eight months in every academic year, to at least Rs 25,000 per month for all 12 months,” he said.
Along with poor pay, the guest faculty also face exploitation, added Prashantha. “We are forced to do the work that belongs to the permanent teaching faculty in government polytechnic colleges. We want the government to give us all the facilities that are normally given to contract employees like PF, ESI, gratuity, leave, maternity leave, experience letters, and others,” he said, adding that all guest faculty based on their teaching experience must be considered for regularisation of their jobs.
