College teachers in Punjab have intensified protests against the Central Government, raising a series of demands including the regularisation of guest and ad hoc teachers, implementation of UGC pay scales and a uniform retirement age of 65.
The local unit of the Punjab and Chandigarh College Teachers’ Union (PCCTU) launched the agitation in response to a nationwide call from the All India Federation of University and College Teachers’ Organisations (AIFUCTO).
Teachers at colleges across the city have been holding two-hour sit-in demonstrations to press the government to address what the union describes as longstanding concerns affecting teaching staff.
Among the major demands is the extension of University Grants Commission pay scales and service conditions to teachers employed at Grant-in-Aid institutions.
The union is also seeking the regularisation of guest and ad hoc teachers, along with the establishment of a uniform retirement age of 65 years.
Another key demand concerns funding for the Seventh Pay Revision. Teachers are calling on the Central Government to immediately release its 50 per cent share of the financial burden associated with the revision to state governments.
The protesters have also raised broader concerns about the future of publicly funded education, calling for safeguards against what they describe as increasing privatisation and commercialisation of the sector.
During a recent two-hour protest at DAV College, Hathi Gate, local PCCTU president Vikas Bhardwaj urged teachers to remain united and strengthen the organisation.
Bhardwaj said collective action would be essential to securing teachers’ rights and addressing their concerns.
PCCTU general secretary BB Yadav also stressed the importance of unity and democratic protest in pursuing the union’s demands.
Yadav said the organisation intends to continue holding sit-in demonstrations at colleges until the government responds to the teachers’ concerns.
The protests form part of a broader nationwide campaign by teachers’ organisations seeking changes to pay, employment conditions, retirement policies and the treatment of temporary teaching staff.
