certain persons while teachers in government schools have better prospects of promotion. But in the proposals formulated by us, these differences have been reduced to the minimum and there is, therefore, no justification to continue the existing disparity of remuneration. The third argument put forward is financial and it is said that the funds needed to upgrade the salaries of teachers in local authority and private schools to the level of those in government schools are not readily available. We recognize the force of this argument and recommend that the principle of parity should be accepted as a State policy forthwith but that its full implementation should be spread over a phased programme of about five years.
3.10 Revision of Salaries. In making our proposals for the revision of the remuneration of teachers, we have kept the following principles in view:
(1) At the university stage, the remuneration of teachers should be broadly comparable with that of the senior services of the Government so that a fair proportion of the top talent in the country is attracted to the profession of teaching and research. What is important here is that the salary of a vice-chancellor should be about the same as that of a Secretary to the Union Government; the maximum salary of a university professor should be the same as the maximum in the senior scale of the IAS; and for outstanding professors, higher salaries comparable to super-time scales of pay of the IAS should be available.
(2) The scales of pay of primary teachers should be comparable to those of public servants with similar qualifications and responsibilities. But they should have a higher basic pay in recognition of the two years of professional training which they have received.
(3) Since teaching is a unified profession, requiring common attitudes of devotion and dedication and since teachers at every stage are entrusted with the responsibility of educating the younger generation, the differences in the remuneration of the teachers at the different levels-primary, secondary and university-should be reduced to the minimum. For example, the minimum salaries of primary, secondary and university teachers should be in the ratio of 1 : 2 : 3. At present, the starting salary of a primary teacher can be as low as Rs. 60-80, which is about one-twelfth to one-sixteenth of the starting salary of a professor.
(4) In order to induce better qualified teachers to teach at the lower stages-the raising of educational standards will ultimately depend upon this-it is essential to adopt a policy under which the
3.11 TEACHER STATUS 91
scales of pay of teachers at the school stage will be based only on qualifications and be made independent of the sub- stage-pre-primary, lower primary, higher primary, lower secondary or higher secondary-in which-they might be serving. While we accept this idea in principle, it may not be Possi- ble, on financial grounds, to adopt it immediately in toto. We have, however, taken the view that at least the headmas- ters of all large lower primary schools (say, with an enrol- ment of about 200) and of all higher primary schools should be trained graduates and should have the same scale of pay as that of trained graduate teachers in secondary schools. Similarly, a certain proportion of the teachers at the sec- ondary stage should have the same qualifications and the same scales of pay as those of junior lecturers in affiliated colleges.
(5) The improvement in salary scales should not be entirely automatic: it should be linked with the improvement in quali- fications and quality.
3.11 Salaries of Teachers. In the light of these general principles, we propose the following scales of pay:
TABLE 3.3. RECOMMENDED PAY SCALES FOP, SCHOOL TEACHERS
Teachers Remuneration Rs.
(1) Teachers who have
completed the and Minimum for trained teacher 150
secondary course and
have received two years
of professional training Maximum salary (to be reached 250
in a period of about 20 years)
Selection grade (for about 15
per cent of the cadre)
N.B. The mini mum salary of a primary teacher who
has completed the secondary course should be
immediately raised to Rs.100; and in a period
of five years, it should be raised to Rs. 125.
Similarly, the minimum pay of a teacher, who
has received two years of training, should be
raised immediately to Rs.125; and it should be
raised to Rs. 150 in a period of five years.
Untrained persons with the requisite academic
qualifications should work on the starting
salary until they are trained and become elig-
ible for the scale.
(2) Graduates who have received one
year of professional training Minimum for trained
graduate 220
Maximum salary (to be
reached in a period of
20 years) 400
Selection grade (for
about 15 per cent ofthe
cadre) 400-500
N.B. Untrained graduates should remain on their starting
salary of Rs. 200 p.m. until they are trained and
become eligible for the scale.
(3) Teachers working in secondary
schools and having postgraduate
qualifications 300-600
N.B. On being trained, they should get one additional increment.
92 EDUCATION AND NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT 3.12
TABLE 3.3-(contd.)
Teachers Remuneration Rs.
(4) Heads of secondary schools Depending upon the size
and quality of the school
and also on their qualifi-
cations, the headmasters
should have one or other
of the scales of pay for
teachers in affiliated col-
leges recommended below.
(5) Teachers in affiliated
colleges Lecturer-Junior scale 300-25-600
Senior scale 400-30-640
-40-800
Senior Lecturer / Reader 700-40-1100
Principal I 700-40-1100
II 800-50-1250
III 1000-50-1500
N.B. The proportion of lecturers in the
senior scale to those in the junior
scale should be progressively improved.
By the end of the Fifth Plan, this pro-
portion should be raised to about 750%
on an average.
(6) Teachers in university departments Lecturer 400-40-800-
50-950
Reader 700-50-1250
Professor 1100-50-1300
-60-1600
N.B. (1) The proportion of junior to senior
posts (i.e. Readers to Professors) is
about 3:I at present in the uni-
versities (the corresponding ratio for
affiliated colleges is 5:1).We should
gradually move in the direction of rais-
ing it to 2:1.
(2) One-third of the professors should
be in the senior scale of Rs. 1600-1800.
Special scales should be introduced for
exceptionally meritorious persons and
in selected Centres of Advanced Studies.
Note:
(a) The above scales of pay for school teachers are at
the current price level and include the existing dearness
allowance. Suitable increases will, however, have to be made
for rise in prices from time to time. For this purpose,
there should be parity in dearness allowance, i.e., the
dearness allowance in any given year should be the same as it
is paid to government servants drawing the same salary.
(b) All scales of pay should be periodically reviewed and
revised at least once in five years.
(c) Compensatory cost of living allowance given in cities,
house-rent allowance or other allowances are not included.
These will be in addition to the salary recommended above and
should be given on a basis of parity.
(d) The scales of pay are to be integrally related to the
programmes of qualitative improvement of teachers through
improved methods of selection, and improvement in general and
professional education.
(e) The scales are to be given to all teachers-government,
local authority or private.
We shall now turn to a discussion of these scales in some detail.
3.12 Reform at the University Stage. As a result of the recom- mendations of the University Education Commission and the work done by the UGC during the last ten years, considerable improvement has been made in regard to the scales of pay of teachers at the university stage. The multiplicity of scales which existed in the past has been reduced and the new scales adopted are more comparable to those in the senior administrative services of the Government of India.
3.13 TEACHER STATUS 93
National scales of pay have been suggested for teachers in universities and in affiliated colleges and these are being increasingly adopted by the institutions concerned. We also welcome the recent decision of the Government of India, on the recommendation of the UGC, to sanction the new scales of pay for university teachers which have been indicated above. The main points to be considered in this context, therefore, are two: (a) implementation of these proposals; and (b) relating them to improvement in quality and qualifications of teachers.
3.13 To facilitate the introduction of these scales at an early date, and especially in private institutions which are so numerous, we recommend that assistance from the Centre be provided to meet the additional expenditure on a sharing basis of 80 per cent from the Central funds and 20 per cent by the State Government and that, in the case of private colleges, the Central assistance may even be provided on a 100 per cent basis. Such assistance should continue during the Fourth Plan period; and, in the meanwhile, steps may be taken by the State Governments to devise an appropriate system of grant-in-aid for placing the revised scales on a permanent basis. Our proposals on this subject have been discussed elsewhere.27
(1) Teachers in Universities. In regard to the qualifications and selection procedures for university teachers, we agree with the recommendations made by the Model Act Committee which we quote for ready reference:
The standard and quality of work of a university depends very largely on the quality of its teachers. It is most important that every care is exercised by the authorities concerned so that teachers of the highest competency are recruited by the universities. Also the conditions of service and opportunities for professional advancement should be such as would attract and retain in the service of the universities men of outstanding ability. The power to appoint teachers must be vested in the Executive Council, but all the teaching appointments should be made by the Executive Council only on the recommendation of a properly constituted Selection Committee. The Selection Committee should consist, besides the Vice-Chancellor and the Head of the Department concerned, of a certain number of experts. This number may vary in accordance with the category of teachers to be appointed. For a professor, it should be necessary to have two or even three outside experts. It may be an advantage to have one nominee of the Chancellor/Visitor on the Selection Committee. The Court or the Academic Council should not select a representative to the Selection Committee. It should be a clear rule that the Executive Council should accept the selection unanimously
27 Chapter XIII.
94 EDUCATION AND NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT 3.13
recommended by the Selection Committee. In rare cases, if for good reasons the Executive Council is unable to accept the recommendation of the Selection Committee, efforts for a better selection may be renewed in the following year. A great deal of what is described as university politics or interference of outside politics in universities arises in connection with appointments. Universities must have the freedom to make their own appointments; but they must be steadfast in their desire to make right appointments.28
(2) Our attention has been drawn to the fact that, in most universities, candidates for appointment as professors are called for interview before a selection committee. Each candidate is interviewed by the committee for 10 to 15 minutes.We are definitely of the view that, in the case of such high level appointments, interviews have hardly any meaning, and, in fact, tend to discourage first-rate men from offering for such appointments. Professors should be persons of standing in the subjects and should be known to the experts by reputation in the fields of their work. It should, therefore, be possible for a selection committee to make a selection on the basis of a careful consideration of the information supplied by the candidates and other relevant data which may be available to the committee. If considered necessary, candidates who have been found suitable for appointment by the selection committee may be invited by the vice- chancellor for a personal discussion before making a formal offer of appointment.
(3) Teachers in Affiliated Colleges. The procedure described above will also apply to university colleges. Problems do not generally arise with regard to government colleges where recruitment is done through a Public Service Commission. In private affiliated colleges, however, the situation needs considerable improvement on the following lines:
(a) The qualifications of teachers in these colleges should be prescribed by the universities and should be similar to those prescribed in university departments.
(b) Each post should be advertised and selection committees should be formed on the lines recommended above for the universities.
(c) On the advice of the selection committee, the appointment should be made by the managing committee constituted for the college. As recommended by the Model Act Committee, this managing committee should be a compact body consisting of about 10 members. The composition of this body should be prescribed by the university. The principal of the college should be a member of this body and in addition there should be pro-
28 Report of the Committee on Model Act for Universities, Ministry of Education, Government of India, 1964,pp.33-4.
3.15 TEACHER STATUS 95
vision for one or more teachers to be on it, preferably by some method of rotation rather than by election. The university should nominate to the governing body two representatives who should normally be teachers of experience.29