Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, June 9: The contractual lecturers working with the Women’s College MA Road Srinagar are passing through tough times as the college has failed to release their salaries of the last two months even as the Government has ordered all institutions to desist from denying salaries to employees keeping in view the ongoing COVID 19 Pandemic.
The lecturers said on one hand the Government is issuing the advisories on daily basis that every employee whether permanent or contractual should be paid due salary, but on the other side they have not been paid any salary.
Out of the total 36, the college administration has renewed the services of only ten lectures while rest have been left jobless with college administration claiming that their services were not required in the current academic session that has been disrupted by the pandemic lockdown. The lecturers, however, said that the move is in contravention with the High Court order wherein it has issued a status quo in their favour.
“The court in its order on a petition filed by the contractual candidates clearly mentions that all the candidates should be considered on duty and no new guidelines shall be implemented on them till the final disposal of the case,” the employees said, adding that they fear that their families would die due to starvation, if not by the virus.
The lectures also pointed towards the order of the Higher Education Department it issued on 5th March this year, wherein it has also advised the college principals “to utilize the services of the respective candidates as academic arrangements teachers for the session 2020-21 who have obtained a court directions as per the available teaching work/budget resources”.
The employees said except Women’s College Srinagar, lecturers of all the colleges of the Valley have received salaries of last one or two months. “When other colleges can release salaries what is holding the College to release our salaries. We have been asking the college administration to assign us work but they have not done so,” a lecturer said, adding that if the College Principal is getting her salary without any work why she is denying the same to all the contractual lecturers.
When contacted, Principal Women’s College MA Road Srinagar, Yasmeen Ashai told Excelsior that there was a requirement of only ten contractual lecturers against the available subjects and all of them have been engaged. “We have engaged them as per the requirement. They have started online classes since May and would get their salaries accordingly,” She said.
She added all of them were supposed to work after the resumption of classwork from March this year, “but that did not happen. How can we pay them without any work? Wherefrom will we get the money? How will we justify it later?” She asked. She, however, maintained that if a Court judgment comes in their favor She would comply.
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