The A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Technical University (KTU) has issued orders mandating that the teaching faculty in its affiliated colleges be qualified as per the norms prescribed by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and that the teachers be compulsorily paid the salary as mandated by the AICTE.
According to information made available by the KTU, the varsity has since its inception been directing the managements and principals of colleges to have qualified faculty members and to pay them as per AICTE scales. The quality of technical education depends on the quality of teachers.
Due to non-payment as per AICTE scales various faculty members are opting to go to better institutes, a note issued on Friday by the KTU read.
“This frequent faculty changes affect the academic activities and student community suffer a lot.
“This order is issued in the interest of the academic community of the State,” the KTU note quoted Pro Vice Chancellor M. Abdul Rahman as saying.
The Institutes and Management has to keep AICTE norms intact in all way including qualifications, salary, and other conditions, the note read.
Unaided institutions
The State Higher Education Department has also ordered unaided institutions to adhere to the salary norms of the AICTE, the KTU note read.
The varsity has also constituted a monitoring committee to look into grievances of faculty members in the implementation of norms and standards as laid down by the AICTE and the KTU.
Honorary professor of the KTU Gangan Prathap would head the monitoring committee.
Former Vice Chancellor of the Central University of Kerala Jancy James and former Vice Chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University P. K. Abdul Aziz would be members of the panel.
Qualification-pay
In addition to initiating punitive measures against errant colleges, the KTU would also bring qualification-pay violations to the notice of the AICTE for possible withdrawal of the council’s approval to the institutions concerned, the note by the kTU added.
