Over 200 professors of government colleges from across regions of the Union Territory held a sit-in protest on Wednesday (November 5, 2025) on the heels of a hunger strike organised at Angel Street recently to highlight chronic career stagnation.
The protesting teachers said promotions have not been granted to assistant professors working in government colleges under the administration in Puducherry, Karaikal, Mahe and Yanam for the past 15 years.
They alleged that despite repeated appeals and multiple stages of protest, the Higher Education Department has delayed the promotion process and refused to take any concrete measure. While promotions are supposed to be processed twice a year by preparing and forwarding the necessary files to the Puducherry government, the procedure has been neglected for 15 years. This had resulted in scores of professors retiring without receiving their due promotions — some have even passed away; several others are nearing retirement within the next couple of years.
According to the teachers, there were seven government colleges under the Puducherry administration across the regions of the Union Territory and associate professors for these institutions were selected and appointed by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). While the onus was on the Higher Education Department to process their promotion files biannually and forward them to the government, the officials had failed in their duty, the teachers said. This, they added, was even after receiving approval from the Education Minister and the Chief Minister, and flagging the issue before the Lieutenant Governor, they contended.
R. Siva, Leader of Opposition and DMK convenor, G. Nehru and M. Sivasankar, MLAs, and M. Ramadass, former MP and Puducherry Maanila Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (PMMMK) president are among the leaders who have declared solidarity with the teachers.
Published – November 05, 2025 07:49 pm IST
