The All India Council for Technical Education’s (AICTE) circular on maternity leave benefits for its women employees is honoured more in the breach, say teachers. Though women account for approximately 50% of the 1,21,984 faculty members registered with the AICTE, even accredited institutions do not adhere to the minimum required labour norms.
For instance, the Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act 2017 calls for setting up of a crèche facility, according to the circular issued on September 10 by Anand Sharma, Deputy Director, Policy and Academic Planning Bureau. And the Act’s provisions must be implemented with effect from April 1, 2017. But teachers don’t foresee sweeping changes in the near future.
They complain that many colleges provide leave only on loss of pay even if the faculty have been on the rolls for several years.
A woman professor from an engineering college in central Tamil Nadu said she was given only two months’ paid leave after the birth of her first child. Later, she opted for loss of pay for four months. For the second child, however, she was given just two-and- a-half months’ leave. The college also told her to register for a master’s degree but she was terminated within a year of joining the course.
“Two male professors had also taken up a PG course along with us. The management retained them and the reason they gave was that they could make use of the men for multiple purposes,” the professor said. She later moved to an arts and science college which also did not treat women well, she rued.
A professor from Namakkal district got a month’s paid leave but another one had to go without pay. When she sought extension she was told to take a break for the entire semester without assurance that she could return to work later.
“In odd semesters, colleges require more teachers. If a teacher went on leave during that time, then she would have to wait for the next odd semester to return to work. But there is no guarantee that she will be taken back,” she said.
Physical punishment
In an institute situated on Old Mahabalipuram Road in Chennai, teachers reporting late to work are punished by making them stand under the sun outside the college gate for two hours. The college does not have a system of casual leave either. Teachers must travel by the college bus and if they opt for private transport, the security seeks the trustee’s permission to allow them inside the college.
Mookambiga, a teacher from a college in the western region who also headed the women empowerment cell her institution, had to quit when her father was hospitalised.
“Since my parents took care of my children, I did not have to take leave even when they fell sick. But when my father went into coma last year, I had to resign my job. Now, my father is back to normal and when I asked to rejoin duty, I was told there was no vacancy,” she said.
Women teachers also complain of arbitrary promotions and say their pension funds and gratuity are delayed.
Teachers’ association office bearers like K.M. Karthik, founder of All India Private College Employees’ Union, and N. Pasupathi, general secretary of Association of University Teachers, say women are treated shabbily in self-financing institutions. Their letters to the various government bodies have had little effect, they said.
