Will the superannuation age of those regular teachers teaching in the state universities of Telangana be enhanced? Reports state that the procedure as to exactly how much the teachers' retirement age should be increased is already being discussed.
Sixty years — this is the current retirement age of university teachers in the state. And here are the options the government is looking at, as per a report in Telangana Today. First is that of increasing the retirement age to 61 years, which will make it the same as that of the employees of the state government and secondly, increasing the superannuation age by three and five years.
As per the current numbers, there are 942 teachers who are working in 11 universities, including in various positions, all of which comes under the Department of Education. As many as 34 senior-most teachers stand to benefit if the retirement age is increased by one year and 62 and 141 respectively, if it is increased by three and five years.
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The fact of the matter is that the teacher unions of Telangana have been imploring the state to enhance the age of retirement as per the norms set by the University Grants Commission (UGC). As per UGC rules, which are also being followed in centrally-funded higher and even technical education institutes, the superannuation age of teachers in the universities is 65.
“We want the government to increase the superannuation age to 65 years. Enhancing the retirement age will help the universities retain senior-most professors besides it will help in carrying out research work,” stated Osmania University Teachers Association's President Prof B Manohar.
As per sources in the Department of Higher Education, in the next cabinet meeting, the government might arrive at a decision with regards to increasing the age of superannuation of university teachers. In a previous instance, the age of superannuation for employees was enhanced from 58 to 61 years and this came into force on March 30, 2021.
