Giving the information, Dr Vazir Nehra, president of the MDUTA, said the demand had been raised strongly by the association at regional consultative meeting recently held by the UGC at Jamai Milia Islamia University, for inviting valuable suggestions from various teachers’ association of north India regarding draft regulations of the revised pay scales.

During the meeting, the association pointed out that the effective implementation of UGC scheme for ensuring uniform standards in higher education would depend upon the content and character of the UGC regulations, its desirability, usefulness, inclusiveness, feasibility and effectiveness, hence appropriate norms to make sure quality and strategies for implementation of the schemes in different regions had to be identified, said Nehra.

He cautioned- If it was not done then regulations would turn out to be just punitive measures to deny the new scales to large sections of the teachers rather than enabling incentives for greater efforts for improving the quality of higher education and through it, promoting the ideal of inclusive development. The UGC should evolve a broad set of transparent norms, which could be applied in different situations.

Besides, the association also welcomed the clarification issued by the UGC, withdrawing some of the most restrictive provisions in the draft regulations in regard to Career Advancement Scheme (CAS) in respect of incumbent teachers who were placed on reader / lecturer (selection grade) as on January 1, 2006.

Dr Nehra said similar modifications should be made in the draft regulations in respect of readers/ lecturers (selection grade) in service as on December 31, 2008. Librarians/Physical Education directors should also be treated at par with teachers in all respects- in salary, service conditions, promotions and retirement age, he demanded.