JAMMU: Seeking job security for the contractual and academic arrangement lecturers rendering un-interrupted services in the Education Department since several years, Harsh Dev Singh, Chairman JKNPP and former Education Minister, sought framing of a suitable regularisation policy of such lecturers.
Describing the ‘use and throw’ policy adopted by the government with regard to such highly educated youth as most reprehensible and contemptuous, he cautioned the government not to play with the sentiments of such under employed youth.
While addressing the media perons here on Sunday, Harsh urged for the implementation of the doctrine of ‘equal pay for equal work’ in J and K and regretted the exploitation of the highly educated youth engaged as contractual lecturers in schools and colleges on nominal wages only for the reason that they were not regularly appointed.
He said that engagement of Ph.Ds and M.Phils and double post graduates as lecturers in the said institutions on academic arrangement basis for negligible emoluments of Rs. 7,000 per month as against Rs. 45,000 for their counterparts in regular establishment, despite the same nature of work, was obnoxious and amounted to worst form of human rights violation.
He said that the principle of ‘equal pay for equal work’ had been expounded through a recent judgment rendered by the Apex Court and constituted a law which needed to be strictly honoured by the State Government with respect to various government engagements.
Paying less wages to such employee as compared to a similarly circumstanced, therefore constituted an act of exploitative enslavement emerging out of domineering position of State and hence bad in law, he said.
Harsh disclosed that earlier he had led a deputation of such lecturers to Naeem Akhtar, the present Education Minister and discussed with him the pathetic plight of contractual lecturers engaged in schools and colleges in the State on academic arrangement basis who were made to work like bonded labourers without being appropriately compensated for their services.
He had brought to the notice of the minister that such highly qualified lecturers were not only made to work on abysmally inadequate honorarium but there was no policy for their regularisation.
Singh had enunciated a proposition which found favour with the Minister as well.
Singh said that a proposal should be put up before the cabinet for inclusion of such lecturers in the special Provisions Act of 2010 which provides for regularisation of similarly circumstanced adhoc employees working in all other government departments.
He said that the government should further reserve a fixed number of teachers’ posts in every District for candidates who have served on adhoc basis in schools and colleges. He said that in view of growing unrest among such highly educated youth, the matter was required to be placed before the cabinet on priority so that simmering discontent among such youth could be addressed.
Drawing attention of the State Government about the regularisation of such lecturers and teachers having been ordered in the states of Punjab, Himachal and Delhi by their respective governments, he regretted that such lecturers working from five to 18 years in educational institutions were subjected to the worst form of ill treatment with uncertainty hovering over their head like damocles sword as they could be terminated any moment by the government. Insisting once again the State government to formulate a proper regularisation policy for such lecturers who had completed more than four years as adhoc service, Singh said that the obnoxious “use and throw” policy adopted by the government was highly oppressive , unacceptable and inhumane. He said that Panthers Party shall stand toe to toe and shoulder to shoulder with the aggrieved lecturers and launch a colossal agitation in the days to come if they were not assured justice with dignity and honour.