Given invigilator assignment in May without salary, say guest lecturers

The assignment of exam invigilator duty to guest lecturers in May when they do not get any salary has raised concern among educators.

Guest lecturers said the exam cells of some government colleges were pressuring them to do invigilator duty. “I was assigned four days of exam duty in April, of which I have completed three, and deputed the last one to another guest lecturer staying closer to the campus. We are paid ₹150 per exam day, but I have to spend at least ₹110 on the commute to the college in Aravakurichi from my home in Paramathi Velur. The college exam cell staff have said that any person I depute would be taken on for additional duties and I would still have to carry out the invigilation duty myself,” a Tamil guest lecturer, requesting anonymity, told The Hindu.

A guest lecturer working in a government college in Lalgudi said he had been assigned five days of exam duty, and would have to attend despite the paltry pay. “Private colleges in Tiruchi offer invigilators ₹250 per exam. There are at least 200 guest lecturers in Tiruchi district’s government colleges who face this precarious situation every year,” he said.

Some colleges were enlisting the services of guest lecturers to help out with the admissions process in May, added the lecturer. “Besides taking care of administrative work, we are expected to canvass for new students. This is unfair because the same job could be done by regular staff, who are paid their full emoluments,” he said.

Guest lecturers receive a monthly salary of ₹25,000 for 11 months. The pay cheque for the exam invigilation is issued several months after May.

In an official release, V. Thangaraj, president, All Government UGC Qualified Guest Lecturers Association, said: “Exams are conducted in at least 75% of the government colleges in Tamil Nadu every year. However, it is regrettable that guest lecturers, who receive salary only for 11 months, are forced to work as invigilators in May every year by the Directorate of Collegiate Education, even though they are not paid a regular salary. We urge the authorities to rectify this situation.”