Expressing concerns over the latest letter issued by the Higher Education Department regarding Career Advancement Scheme (CAS) promotions, the All Haryana Government College Teachers’ Association (AHGCTA) has submitted a memorandum to the Director General of the department, raising crucial points to safeguard the morale and dignity of the teaching fraternity.
Dr Rajesh Ranjha, President of AHGCTA, emphasised that the language used in the recent memo—specifically terms like “false claims” and “fraud”—is unnecessarily harsh and demoralising when applied broadly to the academic community.
“The vast majority of college teachers perform their duties with absolute sincerity and in strict accordance with prescribed norms. Official communications should preserve, rather than undermine, the dignity and institutional respect of teachers,” he added.
AHGCTA urged the department to address any specific discrepancies on an individual basis rather than issuing blanket communications that inadvertently cast suspicion on all applicants, college principals, and Internal Quality Assurance Cell (IQAC) teams, he added.
Dr Rajesh further said that warning of strict action against principals and IQAC members creates an atmosphere of fear and pressure. The Association has requested a supportive, guiding and collaborative verification process rather than a punitive one.
In the memorandum, he further stated that CAS promotions, particularly to the professor scale, represent hard-earned academic progression built on years of teaching experience, research, and professional achievements. Reducing this milestone merely to financial benefits fails to reflect its true academic significance.
He said that, to ensure fairness, the association has suggested that the department may issue transparent guidelines for verifying research publications, making the process systematic and convenient for all stakeholders.
The mandate requiring the withdrawal of applications within a strict ten-day window has caused widespread anxiety among compliant teachers, and the Association has called for a fair reconsideration of this timeline.
“We are hopeful that the Higher Education Department will take these points into consideration and conduct the CAS promotion process in a manner that ensures transparency and fairness while fully maintaining the morale of Haryana’s teaching community,” he added.
