On July 1, 1984 the responsibility of issuing PF statement was transferred from the college managements to the state government treasury. In a note to the teachers the college management informed of this transfer and also gave the then balance in their respective PF accounts.

Ever since the teachers have been in the dark about the interest earned and the balance in their PF accounts. ``We are aware only of the amount deducted from our salaries as PF contribution that shows up annually in our salary certificate,'' a professor from a south Mumbai college claimed. The situation is worse for the retired teachers, he added.

Teachers stated that the issue was raised in the managing committee meetings in their respective colleges. However, the managements have put the onus on the AdministrativeOfficer, Higher Education - Grants (Mumbai region) and the Joint Director of Education (Mumbai).

Early this month a delegation of Bombay University and College Teachers Union (BUCTU) had met the Joint Director of Higher Education, government of Maharashtra, R R Pardeshi and spoke on this matter among other things.

Pardeshi told Express Newsline that the state government has to be extremely careful about the opening balance which needs to be scrutinised and confirmed. As of now, of the 150 aided colleges, over 50 colleges have submitted the required details of their employees PF account to the treasury. ``All this will need additional staff strength which the department does not have at the moment,'' he pointed out, adding that his department has written to the state government to do the needful. However, Mantralaya sources maintain that the department has been seeking an additional staff at least 25 for the last couple of years.