The decision will benefit 7.58 lakh teachers and equivalent academic staff.
Following implementation of the recommendations of the 7th Central Pay Commission for Central Government employees, the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has given its approval for revision of pay scales. This will apply to about eight lakh teachers and other equivalent academic staff in higher educational institutions under the purview of the University Grants Commission (UGC) and in Centrally Funded Technical Institutions (CFTI).
The decision will benefit 7.58 lakh teachers and equivalent academic staff in the 106 universities / colleges funded by the UGC/MHRD and also 329 universities funded by the state governments and 12,912 government- and private-aided colleges affiliated to the state public universities.
In addition, the revised pay package will cover teachers of 119 CFTI —IITs, IISc, IIMs, IISERs, IIITs, NITIE, and so on.
An official release mentions that the approved pay scales are applicable from Jan 1, 2016. The annual central financial liability on account of this measure would be about Rs. 9,800 crore.
The release states that the implementation of this pay revision will enhance the teachers’ pay in the range of Rs. 10,400 and Rs. 49,800, as against the extant entry pay due to the implementation of the 6th Central Pay Commission for the pay of teachers. This revision would register an entry pay growth in the range of 22 per cent to 28 per cent.
For the state government-funded institutions, the revised pay scales will require adoption by the respective state governments. The Central Government will bear the additional burden of the States on account of this revisions. “The measures proposed in the revised pay structure are expected to improve the quality of higher education and also attract and retain talent,” the release concludes.