a day ago
PU lecturers yet to receive remuneration for exam evaluation
Mangaluru: Nearly 65,000 lecturers from PU colleges across the state who evaluated the II PU answer scripts are yet to receive their remuneration. The evaluation for exam 1 was completed by the end of March, followed by exam 2 in May.
Currently, the evaluation for exam 3 is under way, and is expected to be completed within a day or two.
Ningegowda AH, president, Karnataka State PU College Lecturers' Association, said that earlier, bulk allotment was followed for disbursing payments, but this year, the direct bank transfer (DBT) system was introduced, which is facing technical issues. "The KSEAB collects Rs 400 from each candidate as exam fees, but the actual expenditure per student exceeds Rs 675.
The board has sought Rs 90 crore to cover remuneration and other related expenses," said Ningegowda.
Ningegowda noted that each lecturer spends around Rs 50,000 on expenses, including accommodation, during the evaluation period, a significant burden, especially for non-permanent lecturers. "We met the officials concerned, and they have given us written assurance that the payment will be cleared within a month," he added.
He further added that staff involved in the evaluation of exam 3 had decided to boycott the process due to the delay in remuneration. "However, following the intervention of the association, they agreed to call off the protest," he said.
Jayanand Suvarna, principal of Government PU College, Shaktinagar, and president of the Dakshina Kannada Pre-University Colleges Principals' Association, said that until the last academic year, bills were submitted manually, and the remuneration was transferred to the DDPU office, which then disbursed the payments to individual accounts.
This year, however, the KSEAB introduced a new software system to disburse the honorarium directly through DBT.
According to sources, lecturers are paid about Rs 864 for evaluating 24 answer scripts in addtion to TA and DA.
The affected lecturers said that software issue should have been rectified in advance. "We submitted all the bills and documents on time. The delay is from the KSEAB's side. Why should we be made to suffer for no fault of ours?" they questioned.
