OU Rejects Pension Plea of Retired Professor
According to the university, Prof. Ansari joined as assistant professor in 2003, though the recruitment notification for the post had been issued in 1997.
Hyderabad:Osmania University on Thursday issued a clarification on pension and service-related claims concerning retired Professor Ansari, stating that the matter is governed strictly by existing rules and not by individual discretion.
In a statement, the university said it was aware of the professor’s health condition and expressed concern, while also responding to what it described as misinformation circulating on social media about his post-retirement benefits.
According to the university, Prof. Ansari joined as assistant professor in 2003, though the recruitment notification for the post had been issued in 1997. Requests to consider his service from 1997 instead of 2003 were reviewed multiple times. “The executive council examined the request on several occasions and rejected it, maintaining that service cannot be counted prior to the actual date of appointment,” the university said.
It added that a sub-committee formed in 2021 also found the request not permissible under existing regulations. The previous state government, too, had declined to grant such relaxation.
On the pension issue, the university clarified that it had moved away from the old pension system on April 1, 2001, adopting a Life Insurance Corporation-linked pension scheme for those joining after that date. Since Prof. Ansari joined in September 2003, he falls under this category.
The university said it had written to the government in the past seeking relaxation for employees who joined between 2001 and 2004, but decisions remain bound by policy. It added that the issue had been examined at the time of his retirement in February 2023, reiterating that eligibility is determined by existing rules.
