Tirupati: The persistent delay in salary payments for staff at State universities continues to cause hardship, with employees facing uncertainty every month.

Hopes that the change in government would ensure timely disbursements have been dashed, as salaries remain overdue despite assurances.

State universities are grappling with severe financial constraints due to the government’s failure to release block grants on time. Even when funds are allocated, they fall short of covering escalating expenses. While the NDA-led State government has streamlined payments across various sectors, universities remain an exception, revealing deeper financial difficulties. Unlike in previous years, institutions can no longer advance salaries from their reserves, as funds were allegedly diverted into government accounts under the previous YSRCP regime.

Sri Venkateswara University (SVU), one of the State’s most reputed institutions, is at the centre of this crisis. Staff and pensioners anxiously await their salaries, which have been indefinitely delayed this month.

December 2024 salary payment was made in the first week of January 2025, but in previous months (October and November 2024), delays stretched into mid-December.

With an annual salary and pension requirement of over Rs 200 crore, SVU received only Rs 140 crore last year, leaving a persistent shortfall. This year’s allocation of Rs 226.38 crore has proven inadequate due to staggered disbursements.

SVU Registrar Prof M Bhupathi Naidu confirmed that appeals have been made to the Minister for Education and Higher Education Department officials. The university needs Rs 20 crore to Rs 25 crore per month for salaries, with pensions alone accounting for Rs 10 crore. If funds do not arrive by Monday, the administration may seek alternative solutions. Further, any payments are to be made only through Comprehensive Financial Management Services (CFMS) which can clear the bills only when there is budget.

Non-teaching staff and pensioners are bearing the brunt of this crisis. The SVU Non-Teaching Employees Association has announced a half-hour daily protest starting Wednesday if the issue remains unresolved. Association president G Sridhar criticised the prolonged financial strain, noting that universities have struggled for six months despite government promises. Meanwhile, the university’s health centre faces a shortage of essential medicines, adding to employees’ difficulties. With non-payment of salaries and non-availability of medicines, the situation has become a double whammy for the staff and pensioners.

A senior professor voiced concerns over the government’s neglect of higher education, warning that staff shortages and financial instability threaten the institutions’ future. He urged authorities to act decisively and distinguish themselves from past administrations by ensuring timely salary payments and sustainable funding for universities.

Meanwhile, SV University Vice-Chancellor Prof Ch Appa Rao and Registrar Prof M Bhupathi Naidu met HRD Minister Nara Lokesh at the Tirupati Airport on Sunday and submitted a representation to him about the salaries issue and the prevailing situation.

The Minister was said to have responded positively and assured them to resolve the matter immediately.