more-in The fate of the 117 contract teachers in Andhra University still hangs in fire, as the State government is yet to come out with a solution on their pending issue of regularisation. The contract teachers, who were recruited by AU in 2005 for an adhoc pay of ? 6,000 per month (now gone up to ? 28,000) have been demanding that they be absorbed into the rolls or be given job security or be given ‘equal pay for equal work’, as per the Supreme Court guidelines. Their fear aggravated after the government had decided to recruit new teachers to fill up the posts in the university through an examination conducted by the AP Public Service Commission and notification to that effect has already been issued. The contract teachers feel that most of them have already over 15 years of service and are Ph. D qualified and have also cleared the UGC NET and APSET, and now going back to the basic of writing a qualifying examination is unjustified. “What is the guarantee that we will qualify. If at all we fail, then our chapter is closed, despite putting in over 15 years of service. Moreover, we had then gone through the required process of recruitment at that time,” said Dr. K. Arjunudu, President of AP Contract Teachers Association. Committee report Based on their plea and sustained agitation, the government had constituted a committee with two former vice-chancellors and the report will be submitted soon. “Our worry is that the notification for assistant professor is out and we do not have much time. We demand some kind of assurance, as we had called off the stir after a promise made by HRD Minister Ganta Srinivasa Rao, to look into our matter favourably,” said Harish of AU Contract Teachers Association. The stir has been across the State in all the 14 state-run universities and it intensified after the State government sanctioned 1,104 teachers for the 14 State-run universities, including 228 for AU. The contract teachers feel that the government should provide job security and assure time scale payment.

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