Mysuru: Even as long serving Guest Lecturers of University of Mysore (UoM) have been demanding a wage hike, the State Finance Department has rejected the UoM’s  proposal recommending a wage hike for Guest Lecturers and  temporary non-teaching staff of University.

The UoM’s Finance Section at a meeting held on Dec.9, 2022, had come with a proposal on hiking wages of Guest Lecturers and temporary non-teaching staff serving in various Departments of the University,  following which it was forwarded to the Government for consideration.

Responding to the proposal, the Finance Department, in a note sent to the UoM, said that the UoM had recorded  a deficit budget of Rs.40.17 crore in 2021-22. Now with the establishment of Mandya, Chamarajanagar and Hassan Universities, the size of UoM has shrunk and with it, its financial resources too. Stressing on the need for UoM to maintain  fiscal discipline, the note said that the University is already spending Rs.43.47 crore annually as wages for Guest Lecturers and temporary non-teaching staff.

Pointing out that the wages was revised in 2020 and there is no point  in hiking the wages after just two years, the note further said that as per the wage revision in 2020, the wages of UGC qualified Guest Lecturers (having 12-hour workload) was hiked from Rs. 28,000 to Rs. 37,000 and that of non-UGC qualified lecturers from Rs.24,000 to Rs.26,400. Also, some highly qualified Guest Lecturers were getting a monthly salary of Rs.60,000 which is more than the Rs.50,000 ceiling set by the UGC for full-time workload. This apart, the wages given by the UoM stands higher than the wage that the Government has fixed for Guest Lecturers serving in Government degree colleges  as on Jan.14, 2022, the note said.

Continuing, the note signed by the Finance Department Additional Chief Secretary I.S.N. Prasad said that the UoM has appointed more than 900 Guest Lecturers in excess and some of them do not have the UGC mandated qualification. Observing that the UoM has failed to stick on to the educational qualification yardstick in the appointment of Guest Lecturers, the Finance Department , while rejecting the UoM’s proposal on wage hike, has directed the UoM to appoint Guest Lecturers based only on UGC guidelines and also to review its appointments, as the staff are found to be in excess, with the jurisdiction of the University having shrunk after the  recent formation of new Varsities.