Bihar varsity teachers, staff now face salary blues
PATNA: Nearly 5,000 teachers and over 25,000 employees working in Bihar’s state universities, except those in the Patna University, will have to wait for their June salary, as the state government is yet to clear the budget.
Earlier, the government had released Rs 746.87 crore in April for salary, pension and retirement benefits for March, April and May for all the universities, except Pataliputra University, which got funds only for March due to certain issues. For two more months, Pataliputra University got funds later.
Patna University, which has the track record of ensuring timely payment of salary, started the exercise Wednesday to mobilise internal resources after the Patna University teachers and employees’ associations met acting vice-chancellor HN Prasad. For other bigger universities, it is not possible.
“The teachers and employees’ associations met the V-C and showed him the Patna High Court order that the university could give timely salary through internal resources if there was delay from the government. After that, he talked to the department and allowed it. For other universities, though, it is a big problem,” said Randhir Kumar Singh, president of Patna University Teachers’ Association (PUTA).
Earlier, Governor Phagu Chouhan, who is the ex officio Chancellor of universities, had directed all vice-chancellors to make necessary arrangements for disbursing allotted funds and ensuring timely salary payment.
Higher education director Rekha Kumar did not answer calls.
Delay in salary is another jolt to teachers whose arrear payment as per 7th UGC pay got stuck following an abrupt notification by the higher education department in May, which put a cap on payment without authentication from the pay verification cell.
The notification came at a time when some universities had even released instalments of
DELAY IN SALARY IS ANOTHER JOLT TO TEACHERS WHOSE ARREAR PAYMENT AS PER 7TH UGC PAY GOT STUCK FOLLOWING AN ABRUPT NOTIFICATION BY THE HIGHER EDUCATION DEPARTMENT IN MAY HICH PUT A CAP ON PAYMENT WITHOUT AUTHENTICATION FROM THE PAY VERIFICATION CELL
arrears to teachers who have been getting revised 7th UGC pay since October 2019.
K B Sinha, working president of Federation of University Teachers’ Association of Bihar (FUTAB), said, “Even the arrear payment was stalled midway after the department woke up to apply the verification rider after the payment of first instalment of the arrear and revised salary payment was released.”
The verification cell had been constituted in 2013 for verification of salary claims of teachers amid allegations that some of them had got it fixed in a higher grade.
However, seven years on, its job still remains unfinished. Now, apart from teachers, it also has to verify salary of thousands of non-teaching staff too.