12 DU colleges await funds even 2 months after Delhi Govt released Rs 100 crore: Teachers group

NEW DELHI: The Academic for Action and Development Delhi Teachers' Association (AADTA) and Delhi University Executive Council members have written to the Delhi education minister Atishi reiterating the financial issues faced by the 12 DU colleges fully-funded by the city government.

The allocated fund of these colleges, which was Rs 132 crore in 2014-15 was increased three-folds, Rs 400 crore, in 2023-24. “The intermittent delay in release of funds of the twelve Delhi Govt (100% funded) should not be allowed to undermine this,” the teachers group said.

On June 28, the education minister announced the release of Rs 100 crore as second quarterly grant and said that the teachers should not be penalized due to the faults of the management. However, two months past the announcement, the funds have not reached the teachers.

Besides the ‘’agonizing’ delays, the teachers group also pointed out other issues such as delayed salary, pending arrears for promotion, medical bills.

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Irregular and delayed salary: They said that the teachers and employees of these colleges have not been paid salaries ranging for 1 to 3 months. The issue was raised on several occasions in the past months.

Pending Arrears for Promotions: “In DU, the teachers got delayed promotions, in many cases after 15-16 years because of the problems created by MHRD-UGC-DU administration, which have created huge arrears for promotions,” the letter read.

Pension and related benefits: The teachers and employees are not getting retirement benefits at the time of retirement. They demanded that the pension should also be regularized.

Medical Bill: Just after the COVID-19 pandemic, the medical expenses have surged and due to delay in salaries and other benefits, teachers have been facing difficulties in clearing the medical bills.

Clearance of LTC, HTC bills: “In some years, when LTC, HTC cycle period is about to end, many teachers and employees generally take LTC/HTC in large numbers. This leads to sudden hike in some years and such a contingency should be dealt with appropriately. There should be fund for the advance and bills should be settled just after the performance of journey,” it further demanded.