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New Indian Express
4 days ago
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Tamil Nadu arts colleges get 15K more seats, but only 252 additional guest lecturers
CHENNAI: Fulfilling its promise made in this year's budget that 15,000 more seats will be created in government arts and science colleges, the Tamil Nadu government's Higher Education (HE) department issued an order last week to introduce 252 new courses in 100 colleges across TN. However, the department has asked the Collegiate Education Commissioner (CEC) to engage only temporary guest lecturers (GLs) to cater to the increased number of courses and students. Moreover, it has sanctioned less than 50% of the number of GLs sought by the CEC. As per the order, the proposal sent by the CEC to the government said that 558 GLs will be required to teach these 252 courses for the first-year students who join these courses in both first and second shifts in colleges. Consequently, the CEC has sought Rs 13.95 crore for the 2025-26 academic year to pay salaries to these GLs at the rate of Rs 25,000 per month. (GLs are not paid salaries during the two-month vacation period). However, without explicitly mentioning any reason, the order sanctioned approval for engaging 252 GLs and allotted Rs 6.3 crore for their salaries. 'CEC had asked for money for the total number of staff needed, but the department has allocated lesser funds because they want to manage gap with the available staff. This is unfair and it will affect the quality of teaching also,' said V Thangaraj, president, All Government UGC Qualified Guest Lecturers Association, which has been demanding to increase salary of GLs for long. Of the 15,354 seats added in total, 2,008 have been added by incremental increase of seats in 173 existing courses in 29 government colleges.
New Indian Express
25-05-2025
- Business
- New Indian Express
Deadline past but only 50 per cent shops in Tiruchy comply with Tamil signboard rule
TIRUCHY: Nearly two weeks have passed since the deadline for implementation of the Tamil name board mandate ended but major retail chains in Tiruchy are found continuing to flout norms. The rule framed under the Tamil Nadu Shops and Establishments Act requires all commercial establishments to prominently display their names in Tamil in a 5:3:2 ratio. Despite the rule, many outlets continue to operate with English sign boards, citing procedural and approval delays from corporate headquarters. As of May 24, officials estimate that around 40-50% of the shops have complied with the rules. Assistant Commissioner of the Labour Department, V Thangaraj said, 'Six inspectors are deployed within the city limits to oversee the compliance of the rules and we have been sending out notices to all these establishments throughout the month. From June 1, we will start collecting fines of Rs 2,000 for noncompliance of the rules.' Authorities however admit that the follow-up inspections have been minimal, citing limited manpower and logistical challenges in monitoring over 7,000 registered shops in the city. 'We are doing our best but this needs either voluntary compliance from traders or a robust plan from the district administration to deploy additional task forces,' said a senior official requesting anonymity. Activists have criticised the uneven enforcement of officers to monitor. 'Small traders complied immediately but big chains are exploiting the lack of accountability. Without action, the rule becomes symbolic,' a CITU member said. "In Karnataka, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) is the sole authority to fine shops as they enforce these rules directly. Here, the labour department has only six inspectors. So how can they manage citywide enforcement alone?,' asked K Ibrahim, a CPI functionary. District collector M Pradeep Kumar was unavailable for a comment when TNIE contacted.
New Indian Express
07-05-2025
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Guest lecturers boycott examination work, demand equal pay for equal job in Tamil Nadu
MADURAI: Alleging that they were compelled by Government Arts and Science College principals to do exam duty without salary, guest lecturers have urged Chief Minister MK Stalin provide equal pay for equal work as per SC order. V Thangaraj, All Government UGC Qualified Guest Lecturers Association President told TNIE that every year, guest lecturers are forced to do exam duty without salary for May. Though we have staged various protests, the government has not increased our salaries. Hence, most of the guest lecturers boycott their examination work. He added that a total of 7,364 guest lecturers are working in 164 Government Arts and Science colleges and seven Education colleges ( in the state. Of this, 5,000 are UGC qualified staff, working for more than 15 years, getting a consolidated salary of Rs 25,000. They have a long pending demand to the government to regularise their employment and also urged CM to pay a UGC salary of Rs 50,000 or Rs 57,700 as per the Supreme Court's order of equal pay for equal work.
