Andhra Pradesh: Contract teachers seek justice

Rajahmundry: Welcoming the state government’s decision to go ahead with recruitment of teachers in various universities in the state, over 1,500 university teachers working on contract basis in various universities in the state have made a fervent appeal to the state government to provide them justice by regularising their services.

Several university teachers working on contract basis associated with AP Universities Contract Teachers Association have been staging relay hunger strike on the premises of Adi Kavi Nannaya university for the last eight days and university students boycotted their classes and extended their support to the agitating teachers by visiting their camp here on Monday.

Speaking on the occasion, APUCTA joint secretary Dr K.V.N.D.V. Prasad said that as many as 1,564 university teachers have been working in 14 universities in the state on adhoc basis for several years with less wages despite sharing the responsibility of taking classes to teach lessons to students and involving in other university-related activities on par with regular university teachers.

Referring to the state government’s efforts to entrust the responsibility to APPSC to conduct a written test to go for recruitment of teachers in universities by bringing out a legislation in the Assembly, he said that at the time of their appointment even on adhoc basis, the university authorities complied with all norms and added that they were academically qualified and were having higher academic degrees like PhD and teaching experience to be appointed as teachers in the universities than most others.

He alleged that the state government’s move on the issue was causing concern to them. He wondered as to how the state government could go ahead with recruitment drive against the UGC norms especially pertaining to those already working on contract basis in the universities. He alleged that the universities obtained UGC and AICTE recognition to them, availed funds under RUSA, secured 12 B status to get funds and even got NAAC grades and other benefits by availing their services and wondered as to how the state government could deny them justice by ignoring their services all these years and make them to appear for recruitment test afresh.

The contract teachers taking part in the stir alleged that state government’s move to conduct a test to recruit assistant professors in the universities was against the norms set up by the UGC and reiterated their demand to regularise their services and pay wages as per UGC norms.

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