Guest lecturers stage protest, seek extension of service

Guest lecturers of the government degree college staged a protest in front of the office of the Joint Director of the Department of Collegiate Education here on Wednesday, urging the State government to continue their services.

The protesters, who gathered under the banner of Guest Lecturers’ State Coordination Committee, alleged that the government ignored the senior lecturers, who served for long years for low wages. As many as 6,000 lecturers lost jobs due to the change in guidelines for recruitment.

Somashekhar Shimoggi, State president of the committee, demanded that the government retain all the guest faculty without dividing them as UGC-qualified and non-UGC qualified. “The senior lecturers, who spent decades teaching for low wages, are losing jobs. They have no alternative sources of income. And, they cannot get fresh job opportunities at this age,” he said.