CUTTACK: Teachers of Ravenshaw University have threatened to boycott work from April 2 to press for the update of their service books, which is pending with the higher education department for over four years now. The delay in the process has affected their chances of promotion.The Ravenshaw University Teachers Association (Ruta), which has around 90 members, took the decision at a meeting of its general body on Friday. The Ruta is peeved as the service books of 22 teachers have been pending with the government for update since 2014."Consequently, pay fixation and promotion of the concerned teachers has not been possible," Ruta secretary Bikram Keshari Mishra said on Saturday."The association had wanted to adopt an indefinite boycott but we will wait for a month. If the updated service books of the 22 teachers are not released to the university by then, we will be left with no option but to start an indefinite boycott from April 2," Mishra said.He said the association had decided to wait after the registrar requested it for a month's time to pursue the matter with the government.Ruta joint secretary Gyanaranjan Swain said the service books of the 22 faculty members were sent to the chancellor 's office in June 2014. Subsequently, as part of the update procedure, the service books were released from the chancellor's office to the state government in 2015. "They are still pending with the higher education department," Swain told TOI on Saturday.Official sources said registrar Ashok Kumar Dash had, during a meeting with Ruta, conceded that the demand was legitimate and all steps would be taken for the return of the service books within a month.Earlier, teachers under the banner of Ruta had staged protests every day from 2.30 pm to 3.30 pm near the VC's office from November 12 to 17, 2018, to protest against the inordinate delay in the update of their service books.

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