Central university teachers are not satisfied with the new pay-scales announced by the government. They feel cheated because the government had more or less based its decision on the recommendations of the Rastogi committee and not the UGC, which had recommended a far better deal. In the end, the teachers have not even got what Rastogi had suggested. Small wonder that the teachers belonging to unions as diverse as those led by the BJP and the CPI(M) have denounced it in unmistakable terms. Of course, no trade union ever accepts a revised pay-scale without some measure of protest. But when every segment of the teachers protests in one voice, it is time to sit up and take the necessary remedial action. There can be no two opinions that teachers, who mould the nation's future, should be adequately rewarded so that the profession attracts the best talent. The nobility of the profession is such that it may not even be proper to compare it with other professions.Seen against this backdrop, any step that adds tothe value of the teacher is welcome. But it is doubtful whether the teachers' bodies have this in mind when they orchestrate their protest. They have a point when they say that the increase in their salaries -- after so many years -- is a pittance.
However, the quantum of money is not the sole issue that bothers the teachers. They are particularly aggrieved over the introduction of two new grades in the `Lecturer' and `Reader' categories which, they feel, will deprive them of assured promotion to the posts of professors. Human Resources Development Minister Murli Manohar Joshi has argued that these new grades are intended to prevent stagnation. The teachers are upset over the weightage being given to the post of principal in the new scheme of things as also the introduction of a quota for readers (selection grade). Needless to say, assured promotions do not go hand in hand with efficiency. This is not to say that there should be no certainty of promotions at least to a certain stage.
Even in the defenceforces, where career growth is pyramidal, promotion is assured up to a certain rank. That does not, however, mean that anyone who joins the profession, irrespective of his/her performance, should automatically reach the top of his/her career. This will only perpetuate mediocrity. It was precisely to prevent this that the UGC had made a PhD mandatory for certain promotions. That the mass production of PhDs has not caused an explosion of knowledge is, however, a different matter.
Since some benchmark has to be found for promotions, PhDs and M Phils will continue to be crucial. Under the present system, it is difficult for a really meritorious person to reach the upper levels of the profession except in a routine, time-consuming manner. Needless to say, this will cut at the roots of individual initiative. The present controversy would not have arisen if the government had stuck to the recommendations of either the UGC or the Rastogi committee. The government should pick and choose when it appoints a commissionand not when the latter submits its recommendations.
Even in the case of the Fifth Pay Commission, the government hardly went by its recommendations. In both cases, it has not covered itself with glory.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
