Bhubaneswar: Thousands of State Selection Board (SSB) lecturers serving in aided colleges across the state held a peaceful protest at Lower PMG in Bhubaneswar Sunday, demanding parity in pay with government colleges.
Organised under the banner of the Odisha State Lecturers’ Association (OSLA), over 1,000 lecturers from various aided colleges across the state participated in the agitation.
The lecturers alleged that despite possessing higher qualifications, their salaries were lower than those of school teachers and sought “equal pay for equal work,” along with official government recognition on par with lecturers in government colleges. Their primary demand is revision of grade pay from ₹4,600 to ₹6,000 with retrospective effect from 2016.
According to OSLA, this is not their first protest — the association has earlier held peaceful demonstrations for grade pay revision. The association expressed hope that the BJP government, which had promised “equal pay for equal work” during the elections, would now fulfil that commitment.
“We were selected through a fair, transparent, and merit-based recruitment process conducted by the SSB,” said OSLA representatives. They added, “We serve as lecturers in various aided degree colleges across the state, performing the same duties and responsibilities as our counterparts in government colleges. Many of us hold PhD and MPhil degrees and have cleared NET and JRF examinations, yet we continue to be denied official recognition and corresponding pay.”
The lecturers pointed out that prior to 1989, the pay scale for college lecturers ranged between ₹700–1,600 and ₹1,350–2,975. In 1989, the scale was revised to ₹2,200–4,000, ensuring parity between aided and government college lecturers. Subsequent revisions in 1996 and 2006 upgraded the pay scale to ₹15,600–39,100 with a grade pay of ₹5,400, which was later raised to ₹6,000.
However, the lecturers said that during the 2016 SSB recruitment, the newly appointed lecturers were given a lower grade pay of ₹4,600, a disparity that continues to this day. OSLA described the issue as a governmental anomaly and an open violation of Rule 9, Chapter 3 of the Odisha Education (Recruitment and Conditions of Service of Teachers and Employees of Aided Educational Institutions) Rules, 1974, which guarantees equal pay for equal work.
The association’s key demands include inclusion of House Rent Allowance (HRA) and official government recognition, enhancement of retirement benefits and gratuity, amendment of Section 7C of the Odisha Education Act, 1974, independent leave entitlement for women lecturers, time-bound promotions, and recognition as Assistant Professors.
The protest was led and coordinated by OSLA vice-president Manas Ranjan Sahoo, general secretary Gaurav Sharma, joint secretary Tulasi Raut, treasurer Gayadhar Mallick, and joint treasurer Tathagata Raut.
PNN
