Demanding immediate absorption into the permanent faculty list, contract teachers of Andhra University began an indefinite hunger strike from Tuesday in front of the university’s main gate.
In the nine-decade old university there are about 117 contract teachers in various departments. Contract teachers are a worried lot in the wake of the government clearing the first phase of recruitment process not only in AU but in all the other 13 State-run universities.
AU had recruited the contract teachers in 2005, for an ad hoc pay of ₹ 6000 per month. Now the pay has gone up to ₹ 28,000.
According to the contract teachers, they were recruited through the mandatory procedure and now the universities are not considering their absorption and are going for open recruitment through an examination.
“We were recruited by a constituted eight-member board with the then Vice-Chancellor at the chair. The selection was also ratified by the then executive council. All of us are Ph.D qualified and have cleared the NET or the AP SLET. We qualify as professors as per the UGC norms and despite that we are not being considered by universities,” said Zulfiqar Ali of AU Contract Teachers Association.
The teachers claimed that most of them have crossed 50 years and have put their prime as contract teachers in the university. “Where do we go now? And it is unfair for the government to ask us to write an examination when we are already NET or APSLET qualified,” said K. Arjunudu, president of AP Contract Teachers Association.
The government has sanctioned 1,104 teachers for the 14 state-run universities, including AU. While about 390 teacher posts have been sanctioned for AU, the allotment to other universities include Vikrama Simhapuri (76), Rayalaseema (60), Krishna (40), Dr. B.R. Ambedkar (48), Adikavi Nannaya (39), JNTU-Kakinada (17), Yogi Vemana (59), JNTU – Anantapur (122), Dravidian (14), Sri Venkateswara (15), Acharya Nagarjuna (84), Sri Krishnadevaraya (95) and Sri Padmavathi (18).
He further alleged that AU had projected the contract teachers as faculty staff and secured NAAC ‘A’ grade. “The university also secured various courses from national bodies such as NCTE, AICTE, RCI, PCI and BCI by showcasing the contract strength,” he said.
