Aided college teachers’ association urges TN govt to fulfil long-pending demands

CHENNAI: The Aided College Teachers’ Association (ACTA) has urged the Department of Higher Education and the state government to implement the ‘Career Advancement Scheme’ (CAS) among other demands, which they claim the aided college professors have been denied for several years.

The ACTA members in their statement alleged that professors of aided colleges are under severe stress because of the continuous betrayal and differential treatment by the Department of Higher Education and by the state government.

“Any employee in the government or private sector is appointed with the assurance of the monthly salary and periodical promotions. Bu, the aided college professors have been deprived of it in TN. They are denied CAS for the past five years whereas the teachers working in government colleges have been granted the same, including arrears,”the statement read.

Speaking to DT NEXT, an ACTA member said,"We met the higher education minister, the secretary and the commissioner of the directorate of collegiate education to solve the long pending CAS issue, but all to vain. The delay in promotion is affecting the aided college professors both monetarily and academically.”

The members further claim that CAS isn’t being implemented due to the oral instructions given by the officials of the higher education department.

Additionally, ACTA pointed out the anti-employee attitude of the state government in not restoring many privileges and benefits like the incentives, revising surrendering of earned leaves, implementing the old pension scheme, and incentives for M.Phil and PhD.

“When ACTA and the other organisations organised the indefinite strike with JACTTO-GEO in the previous regime, the then opposition leader MK Stalin promised restoration of the old pension scheme and other long pending issues. Though, in the DMK election manifesto in 2021 these assurances were included, it was not fulfilled, a ACTA member said.