The colleges run by Saraswati Education Society (SES) were barred from admitting students after it came to the fore that they had failed to pay salaries of more than 1,500 teaching and nonteaching staff for 18 months between 2016 and 2018.
The AICTE officials said the SES has partially cleared the pending salaries and made necessary changes to the existing infrastructure, thus making its colleges eligible for extension of approval (EOA).
“Earlier this year, after the SES applied for EOA, a team of experts inspected the colleges and submitted their report. We may revoke the ban on admissions, as shutting the institutes won’t solve problems faced by its staff. Instead, we hope our action makes the management fall in line so that it doesn’t delay salaries in the future,” said an AICTE official.
SES chairperson Nandkumar Tasgaonkar could not be reached for comment.
Since 2018, hundreds of SES employees have been protesting and striking intermittently over salary delays. This affected lectures and examination schedule at the seven institutes. The colleges were subjected to scrutiny after teachers complained to the AICTE about salary delays.
While the AICTE officials did not provide details about the salaries cleared, documents submitted by the SES management to the University of Mumbai (MU) in October 2018 claim it reached an out-of-court settlement with the agitating teachers. The documents state the management will initially pay salaries for nine months — of which salaries for almost five months have been paid.
“The documents submitted by the [SES] management shows it has deposited the salary for five months in the bank account of its trust. Although the colleges didn’t submit proof of the money deposited into the accounts of its employees, a few staffers have claimed to receive a portion of their pending salaries,” said a university official.
But teachers alleged inaction by the university and the AICTE.
“The management is yet to clear the dues. It’s also facing police action for failing to deposit a component of provident funds. Will allowing admissions help employees get their salaries?,” said Vaibhav Narawade, president of Mumbai University and College Teachers’ Association (MUCTA), which is spearheading the teachers’ agitation.
Source
| Hindustan Times | 9th May 2019
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