The Higher Education Department (HED) Punjab issued an important announcement regarding the salaries of staff members in universities on Tuesday.
The department has informed the Vice-Chancellors (VCs) of the public sector universities in Punjab that employees are not entitled to the grant of a 15% special allowance.
The HED Punjab had previously sought advice from the Finance Department Punjab on the admissibility of Special Allowance 2022 to the employees of autonomous bodies. The decision has been made after thorough consideration of the matter.
A letter from the HED Punjab to VCs states, “I am directed to refer to the subject cited above and to state that an advice regarding the admissibility of special allowance-2022 to the employees of autonomous bodies i.e. universities has been received from Govt of the Punjab, Finance Department, vide letter No. SO (C) Misc-1/21 (Temp), dated 08.03.2023 in which it is clarified that in the instant case, universities are autonomous bodies under the administrative control of HED.”
“The employees of universities are not civil servants; hence they are not entitled to grant of 15% special allowance as per the letter of the Finance Department bearing No. FD.SR.V.3-1/2021, dated 20.07.2022,” the letter adds.
It is worth noting that Academic Staff Associations (ASAs) of public sector universities, including Punjab University’s ASA (PU-ASA), had expressed concerns over the Finance Department’s point of view.
These associations had demanded the grant of a 15% special allowance to the employees of universities in the wake of ever-increasing inflation.
