While arts and science college teachers are assured of the benefits due to them, including from the 7th Pay Commission revision, engineering faculty remain clueless about what is in store for them.
Technical educators’ promotions and pay hikes are linked to their academic performance and the norms are determined by the All India Council for Technical Education. The council framed the Career Advancement Scheme (CAS) regulations in 2010 and it came into effect in 2012. But following complaints that the regulations were difficult to comply with, the norms were revised in 2016.
According to a professor in an aided engineering college, a decade after the 6th Pay Commission recommendations were implemented, technical educators in the State had not benefitted.
“CAS has always been an integral part of pay revision for college teachers. The scheme is aimed at encouraging teachers to improve teaching/learning methods, acquire higher qualifications, conduct extension service and research programmes. The scheme has been implemented for all college teachers in the State, except technical education teachers,” he rued.
No promotions
Members of the technical teachers’ associations say around 1,500 teachers in government engineering and polytechnic institutions have not received the CAS benefits.
“Those of us nearing retirement have not been considered for the promotion, despite being qualified. The 7th Pay Commission recommendations would soon be implemented but we may not benefit,” said a teacher from a technical college in the western region.
Higher education secretary Sunil Paliwal said the department was currently scrutinising the applications of teachers and academic staff of Anna University. “Even professors in Anna University do not qualify going by the norms originally stipulated by the AICTE,” he said.
The department has constituted a panel of experts in all disciplines for the upward movement of teachers and other academic staff, he said. One of the CAS norms is that the teachers should have undergone 21 days of training in an unbroken stretch.
Often, teachers take up a few days of training/seminar at a time. The panel has recommended adding all the workshops to arrive at the number of days, said an official.
Of the 1,884 applications it received from Anna University, scrutiny has been completed for 1,384. “As per the existing norms, 394 persons qualified. After the scrutiny based on revised norms, 248 more persons have been added to the list of eligible candidates,” Mr. Paliwal said.
Scrutiny of the 500 other applications was in progress, he said, adding that a similar exercise will ensure that all eligible technical and engineering college teachers receive the CAS benefits.
