- State government ensures benefits of Rs. 337 crores to University and College teachers by providing revised UGC scale: Jai Ram Thakur
- CM lays foundation stones of Parking Complex and staff quarters
Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur while addressing the Abhivadan Samaroh, felicitation programme of Himachal Pradesh University Teachers and College Teachers association in HP University Auditorium here today said that the teachers were the real architects of the nation and the society and the State Government was committed for their welfare and betterment.
Chief Minister said that the State Government has decided to give the benefits of the new pay scale to the employees on the lines of Sixth Pay Revision of Punjab Government. Apart from this, the State Government has also decided to give the benefit of UGC pay scale to about 32,000 lecturers and professors working in colleges and universities of the state, he said.
Jai Ram Thakur said that the State Government was committed to safeguarding the interests of the employees and has accepted every genuine demand of the working class. He said that several issues of the employees which were pending for decades during the last four and a half years have been resolved. He said that with this decision of the State Government to provide UGC scale to the teachers, benefits worth Rs. 337 crores have been provided to University and College teachers by providing them revised UGC scale from January 1, 2016 to March 31, 2022.
Chief Minister said that the State Government was laying topmost priority to the education sector. He said that the State government has made a provision of Rs. 8412 crore for the education sector for the current financial year. He said that quality education was the need of the modern times and the State Government was committed to provide quality education. Since the inception of Himachal Pradesh, till now the state has made tremendous progress in the field of education and it has been ranked second in the country in literacy rate.
Jai Ram Thakur said that the nation was celebrating 75 years of Independence and the teachers over these years have made immense contributions in shaping the destiny of the nation and its people. He urged the teachers to celebrate this event in a befitting manner so that the younger generation could be sensitized about this glorious journey of the nation. He said that the State was also celebrating 75 years of its existence. He said that despite being a hilly state, the State has made a marked progress in all spheres of development. He said that there were only 301 educational institutions in the State in 1948, whereas today, the State has about 16,124 educational institutions spread over every nook and corner of the State.
Chief Minister said that the present State Government has implemented several schemes for the welfare of the weaker sections of the society. He said that the present State Government has implemented schemes such as Mukhya Mantri Sahara Yojna, Mukhya Mantri Shagun Yojna, HIMCARE Yojna, Mukhya Mantri Grihini Suvidha Yojna, etc. for providing a helping hand for the poor and downtrodden. He said that several works have been completed and initiated under the Smart City project in Shimla and Dharamshala towns. He also felt the need for decongestion of the overcrowded cities so that proper basic amenities could be provided to the citizens.
Various Associations of the teachers honoured the Chief Minister on the occasion to thank him for implementing the UGC scales for the teachers of University and colleges.
Earlier, the Chief Minister laid foundation stone of Non-teaching staff quarters for Class-III employees’ block to be constructed at a cost of Rs. 2.20 crore and multistory parking complex at university campus to be constructed at a cost of Rs. 12.90 crore.
Himachal Pradesh College Teachers Association presented a cheque of Rs. 5.25 lakh to the Chief Minister towards Chief Minister’s Relief Fund.
Urban Development Minister Suresh Bhardwaj said that Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur has always maintained cordial relations with its employees and provided them all their dues well in time. He said that the State has made remarkable progress in the field of education. He said that the literacy rate which was only 4.8 per cent in 1948; has gone upto 83 per cent. He said that credit for this goes to the expansion of the education system in the State.
Education Minister Govind Singh Thakur said that vocational education was being promoted in schools and colleges for skill development of the students. He said that by providing UGC scales to the teachers of University and colleges, the State Government has provided them benefits worth Rs. 337 crore. He said that to lessen the impact on the education of children in schools during the Corona period, arrangements were made for online education under Har Ghar Pathshala. He said that students were connected through WhatsApp and websites and about two lakh WhatsApp groups were created, which benefited about over eight lakh students. He said that the State Government has distributed laptops with modern technology to 19,847 meritorious students of the state under the Srinivasa Ramanujan Chhatra Digital Scheme, as due to the Corona crisis, laptops could not be distributed to the meritorious for the last two years.
Vice Chancellor Prof. S.P. Bansal welcomed the Chief Minister in the university campus and thanked him for always being considerate towards various issues of the teachers. He said that the University was striving hard to improve its ranking so that it could get more funds from UGC.
President Himachal Pradesh Government College Teachers Association Dr. Dharamver S. Dharwal thanked the Chief Minister for implementing the UGC scales for the University and College teachers. He also detailed various demands of the Teachers on the occasion.
Secretary, Joint Action Committee of University Teacher’s Association Prof. Joginder Saklani while welcoming the Chief Minister said that State was blessed to have a simple and honest Chief Minister heading the State, who was always considerate towards the resolving various issues of the common man. He thanked the Chief Minister for implementing the UGC scales for the teachers of Universities and Colleges of the State, despite Punjab still to implement these recommendations.
Pro-Vice Chancellor Prof. Jyoti Prakash, Dean of Studies Prof. Kulbhushan Chandel, Member NAAC Prof. Nagesh Thakur, Chairman HP Board of School Education Dr. Suresh Soni, member Private University Regulatory Commission Prof. Shashikant, former Pro Vice Chancellor Prof. N.K. Sharda, representatives of various teachers associations were present on the occasion.
