OU faculty rallies for CPS implementation ahead of CM’s visit

Hyderabad: Faculty members of Osmania University (OU) staged a rally on Monday demanding the immediate implementation of the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) for all eligible permanent staff. The march began at the historic Arts College and concluded at the Administrative Building, strategically timed ahead of the Honourable Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy’s scheduled visit to the campus on 10 December.

The rally was accompanied by a Joint Statement from the faculty, which commended the transformative leadership of Vice-Chancellor Senior Professor Kumar Molugaram. Notable achievements during his tenure include a sharp rise in NIRF 2025 rankings, Rs 75 crore in extramural funding, the development of an indigenous semiconductor chip, and academic modernisation through initiatives such as the Four-Year Undergraduate Programme and new courses in AI and Data Science.Despite these strides, faculty members expressed deep concern over the unresolved pension issue.

Staff appointed after 2004 remain excluded from both CPS and the Old Pension Scheme (OPS), leaving them with no retirement security. OU is currently the only state university in Telangana which has yet to implement CPS for its eligible employees a disparity the faculty described as a glaring anomaly.

Senior professors including G Malleshem, Venkata Lakshmi, Srinivas, Kavitha Devi, Konda Nageshwar Rao, B Lavanya, Ch Kaseem, and P Chandrashekhar voiced their anguish over the prolonged uncertainty. Professor G Naresh Reddy expressed hope for resolution under the current government, while Professor S Jithendra Kumar Naik, OSD to the Vice-Chancellor, assured solidarity and administrative support.

The faculty urged Vice-Chancellor Molugaram to escalate their representation to the Chief Minister’s Office, calling for swift government action to ensure financial justice and institutional parity for OU’s dedicated workforce.