Haryana: Retired college teachers discuss pension and court cases

Haryana: A meeting of the Retired College Principals and Teachers Association (RCPTA), Yamuna Nagar Zone was held here recently. The meeting was chaired by Dr. Varinder Gandhi, retired Principal and Director, Guru Nanak Girls College, Yamuna Nagar. Secretary of RCPTA Yamuna Nagar, Devendra Anand conducted the proceedings and presented the report of the November 2024 meeting. Addressing the gathering, President of Retired Teachers Association, Haryana, Dr. Amar Singh Malhotra provided updates on various court cases related to retired teachers. Regarding pension, he said that Rs 300 crore has been allocated for the financial year 2024-25, which includes payments till January. He said that additional budget has been requested to ensure timely pension disbursement. They discussed in detail several issues including charging compound interest instead of simple interest in probation period cases, extending all benefits to those who retired before 2006, notional pay fixation, separation from service, timely pension payment, disbursing pension through treasury, providing medical benefits and addressing concerns related to the 36-day strike period. They said the government should sympathetically consider all demands of retired teachers so that they get their due benefits. In his presidential address, Dr Varinder Gandhi stressed the importance of unity among retired teachers and the need for continuous efforts to protect their interests. Retired Principal Dr Balbir Singh expressed concern about the declining quality of education. Dr Asha Kapoor, Dr Avinash Singh, Dr BB Mahajan, Subhash Vohra, Subhash Sehgal and Finance Secretary Yugesh Kumar were present in the meeting.