The Federation of University Teachers' Associations of Bihar (FUTAB) has launched a strong protest against the non-payment of monthly pensions to more than 2,650 retired educators and administrative staff of Tilka Manjhi Bhagalpur University (TMBU). The association has demanded the immediate release of government grants to end the financial hardship faced by the pensioners.
FUTAB Leaders Highlight Government Anomaly
Kanhaiya Bahadur Sinha, working president of FUTAB, and Sanjay Kumar Singh, its general secretary, revealed a glaring discrepancy. They stated that while pensioners from all other state universities received their dues for December, not a single retired teacher or non-teaching staff member from TMBU has been paid.
The leaders pointed to a critical oversight from July 2025, when the state government disbursed salary and pension grants covering the period up to February 2026 to all conventional universities in Bihar. Tilka Manjhi Bhagalpur University was conspicuously excluded from this allocation. Despite repeated appeals from concerned authorities to the state government to correct this anomaly, no action has been taken.
They issued a stark warning: if the government does not address this issue promptly, TMBU pensioners will remain without their rightful pensions until February of the coming year.
Pensioners' Plea and Official Response
Echoing FUTAB's concerns, Pawan Kumar Singh, convener of the TMBU pensioners' association, has urgently appealed to the state education department. He called for necessary steps to release the pending pension grants without further delay to save retired staff from unnecessary financial distress.
When questioned, Navin Kumar Agrawal, the State Higher Education Director, provided an explanation. He told reporters that the full pension amount for the financial year 2025-26 could not be released to TMBU due to a lack of some necessary information from the university.
Agrawal assured that the demand for sanctioning the required pension grants has now been forwarded to the finance department. He indicated that the grants are likely to be released soon, offering a glimmer of hope to the affected retirees.
Mounting Pressure for Resolution
The situation has created significant anxiety among thousands of retired university employees who depend on their pensions for livelihood. The unified stance of FUTAB and the pensioners' association is mounting pressure on the state administration to rectify what appears to be an administrative delay.
The core demand remains clear: the Bihar government must expedite the process and ensure that TMBU is included in the grant disbursement cycle without further exclusion, securing the financial dignity of its retired teaching and non-teaching staff.
