Kerala violated guidelines; College teachers will not receive UGC salary arrears

The alleged indifference on the part of the state government in fulfilling its obligations regarding the UGC salary arrears for university and college teachers, as part of the implementation of the Seventh Pay Revision, has resulted in the denial of arrears to the teachers. The central government clarified that the arrears cannot be paid because the state did not follow the reimbursement condition, which requires the submission of reports and proposals after the expenditure. As a result, the Rs. 1500 crores to be paid to the teachers will not be paid. 

The deadline to submit the reports and proposals for the expenditure was March 31, 2022. However, the state did not comply, and the reimbursement scheme has been invalid since April 1, 2022. Therefore, the central government has confirmed that the arrears cannot be paid now.

This issue has been repeatedly raised by opposition parties and college teachers' unions for a long time. It was also raised in the Lok Sabha by Dean Kuriakose from Kerala, to which Union Minister of State for Education Dr. Sukanta Majumdar provided a detailed clarification regarding the central government’s stance.

The state's argument is that the delay in paying the arrears was due to the slackness on the part of the central government in providing their share of Rs. 750 crores for the UGC salary revision.

The decision was made that the Rs. 1500 crore salary arrears for the period from January 2016 to March 2019 would be shared between the central and state governments. However, the state government has not spent its share of the salary arrears, citing the reason that the central government did not provide the funds. Instead of fulfilling its part, the state government kept sending letters demanding funds from the central government.