Maharashtra government has taken another big step in the crisis surrounding Pune-based Sinhgad Technical Education Society (STES) by taking over management of 25 more institutes run by it. Teaching and non-teaching employees who have been waiting for salaries and arrears for years now have fresh hopes.
On November 6, the DTE (directorate of technical education) issued an order appointing joint director of technical education Pune as administrator of 25 institutions. The takeover took effect immediately and society was asked to hand over administration of institutes to appointed officer.
The Maharashtra government had earlier taken control of seven colleges run by the same educational society. The Directorate of Higher Education (DHE) in an order dated November 12 put the seven permanently unaided colleges under government management for three years.
The two decisions are a major intervention by the state government in the functioning of Sinhgad Technical Education Society which has been accused of non-payment of salaries and retirement benefits of employees.
The DTE order said complaints regarding unpaid salaries and arrears of teaching and non-teaching employees had been received repeatedly. The department earlier had sent complaints on service conditions and salary payments to Savitribai Phule Pune University for necessary action.
The government also said that representatives of the society had assured them during meetings at Mantralaya on September 22 and October 14 that pending salaries and arrears would be cleared within a month but no payment was made as promised.
The department also mentioned complaints from students about disruptions of academic activities at some institutions. This along with employee grievances that were not resolved led the authorities to look at appointing administrators.
The latest government move follows serious remarks by the Bombay High Court on the protracted salary dispute. On November 10, the court directed CBI, ED and Income Tax Department to probe financial affairs of society, its 44 institutions and trustees.
The High Court also expressed concern over the failure to pay employees despite repeated directions. Reports said outstanding salaries and retirement benefits were more than Rs 400 crore. The court restrained dealings with society’s and trustees’ assets till investigation was completed.
The issue has been a great hardship for employees who have reportedly not been paid regular salaries for years. The court was also told that at least 13 employees had committed suicide due to financial distress caused by prolonged non-payment of salaries.
Now that administrators have been appointed in 32 institutions under the two departments employees hope that will result in proper assessment of dues and a clear payment schedule.
But takeover alone doesn’t mean immediate salary payments either. Employees want concrete action verification of pending arrears and time bound mechanism to settle dues.
The coming weeks will show how well the new administrators can deal with employees’ concerns while students’ academic activities continue uninterrupted.
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