CHANDIGARH – Unqualified teachers, temporary principals, pay scale as low as Rs 10,000 and non-existent libraries and medical rooms. This is the state of affairs in 51 colleges in Punjab that have been found violating the National Council for Teacher Education and Panjab University norms.
During an inspection carried out by the university, it was found that these colleges had hired unqualified staff on an ad hoc basis without the mandatory approval from the university.The number of such faculty members varied from college to college and in some cases was as high as 70 per cent. More than 35 colleges were neither paying salaries nor DA to its employees as prescribed by the UGC.
The inspection committee, mentioning BKM College, Balachaur, has said in its report: “It’s high time that the university acts as the college has already done much damage.” Guru Nanak College of Education, Dalewal, Hoshiarpur, has been found guilty of not only functioning without a regular principal, but also ‘hiring’ one to befool the inspection committee.
The college appointed Dr Shamina Bano as principal in 2010 but the university rejected the appointment as she was not qualified for the post. Instead of a new principal, the management continued to call her on important occasions to show that the college had a principal. Staff members, students and even Bano admitted that she hardly ever visited the college. “Ironically, her attendance was marked in the register for the entire month,” the PU panel report said.
