MU revokes paid maternity leave for guest faculty and temporary staff
MANGALURU
In a cost-cutting move, Mangalore University (MU) has revoked paid maternity leave for guest faculty and temporary non-teaching staff. The syndicate granted four months of paid leave in July 2022, but the benefit was discontinued last month without alternative provisions. The cash-strapped MU aims for this move to significantly improve its financial condition, and the syndicate pointed out that there was no necessity to provide such benefits to guest faculty and temporary staff. Judith Mendonca, a syndicate member who proposed scrapping the policy, stated that guest faculty working under MU are paid a substantial amount of compensation compared to other state universities in Karnataka. “There are guest faculty appointed for courses with fewer than 10 students. They have a maximum of three hours of work per day. In this scenario, it is an absolute financial burden on MU to offer temporary staff such benefits. Therefore, MU has decided to withdraw and scrap the rule from May 2025 with immediate effect,” explained Mendonca.
The decision to offer paid maternity leave was taken after former syndicate member K Ramesh tabled the proposal. He informed that one of the guest faculty working in Kodagu district, requested that all women guest lecturers be considered for paid maternity leave. No guest faculty or temporary staff under MU were eligible for the facility, even though many worked for more than a decade. The aim was to give them relief as they have no pay until they return to work. Currently, only contractual employees are eligible for six months of paid maternity leave, as directed by the state government. Unhappy with the decision of MU, female guest faculty members said that they need to be given some other benefits for their welfare or reverse the decision.MANGALURU
A man allegedly lost Rs 24.2 lakh in an online investment scam. The complainant stated that in March last year, while browsing Instagram, he clicked on an advertisement link related to trading, which redirected him to a group called ‘Fyers Market Discussion Group'. A person named Sharon Trivedi then added the complainant to a WhatsApp group and sent an application form encouraging him to invest in trading. After filling out the form and registering, Sharon sent a link for the complainant to download and install an app. Sharon Trivedi remained in constant contact and explained various attractive schemes, particularly about Institutional Stock and IPO Placement, urging the complainant to invest money. Similarly, through another Instagram advertisement, the complainant came across a different trading company. A person named Ishita Paul, using different WhatsApp numbers, provided information about trading and sent the complainant a website link. Following the instructions on the website, the complainant invested money and again received several bank account numbers and IFSC codes from the customer support team.
The complainant transferred a total of Rs 24.2 lakh in multiple instalments to various bank accounts provided by these unknown individuals. Although the fraudsters returned a small amount initially to gain trust, when the complainant asked for the remaining amount, he was asked to pay tax and commission. Despite paying these additional amounts, he was again asked to pay a 10 percent security deposit to withdraw the rest of the funds. This raised suspicion, and upon further inquiry, the complainant realised he had been cheated. The complainant waited in the hope of recovering the invested money, but, having received nothing, finally filed a complaint at police station. A case has been registered at CEN Crime police station.
