Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

No move to raise retirement age: Isaac

Photo: C. Ratheesh Kumar

Youth meet: Scientist Prabir Purkayastha inaugurating the State conference of the Democratic Youth Federation of India in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday. —

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The State government has no plans to raise the retirement age of government employees, Finance Minister T.M. Thomas Isaac said here on Friday.

He was inaugurating a seminar on ‘Job, unemployment and development’ as part of the 11th State conference of the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) here on Friday.

He called upon the youth to fight against the norms laid down by the University Grants Commission (UGC) for granting Central assistance worth Rs.2,000 crore to the State.

Dr. Isaac clarified that the retirement age of medical college teachers would be raised to 60 as the government had no options.

There is a shortage of teachers and in the event of a mass retirement, the government will be compelled to wind up many courses and batches, he said.

The UGC had insisted that the State government should implement its guidelines as a composite package for securing the Rs.2,000-crore Central assistance to implement the pay package.

Raising the retirement age of college teachers is also one of the norms, the Minister said.

The Youth Congress had announced an agitation against the proposal to raise the retirement age of college teachers. It is a Central government proposal. All youth organisations, including the DYFI and the Youth Congress, should fight against such policies of the Centre, he said.

The unemployment rate in the State is 21 per cent. A survey conducted by DYFI had found that only 19 per cent youth had stable and secure jobs. This meant a majority was employed in the unorganised sector. The neo-liberal policies were progressively reducing secure job opportunities and also making more jobs insecure, he said.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Applications invited for Employability Enhancement Programme
Public to pick winners of Amrita film awards
Directorate for cooperative bodies
Warning against cheats
SIET CD franchisees
Clarify norms for bus fare hike, says Chandy
No move to raise retirement age: Isaac
Heritage project planned
Minister justifies NH development
KSACS to launch PCR test soon
Norms violated in hazardous goods transport
Life at Ranji Trophy’s other end
ISRO mulls tie-up with Kerala University
Forgery: investigating officer cites lack of proof
Research should benefit society: Madhavan Nair
CPI(M) expresses apprehension

Copyright © 2010, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu