The state government has started online verification of the details of part-time, contractual and guest lecturers of state-aided colleges to regularise their jobs.

Till last week, teachers had to go to Bikash Bhavan to complete the verification of their documents such as mark sheets, pass certificates and appointment letters. The government has prepared a form for teachers, which will be filled online by the institutional heads and sent to the government, a higher education department official said.

Chief minister Mamata Banerjee had announced at an administrative meeting last year that the jobs of part-time, contractual and guest lecturers of state-aided colleges would be regularised and their salaries enhanced.

Close to 15,000 part-time, contractual and guest teachers were supposed to get enhanced salaries from January. But their jobs are still to be regularised and they receive salaries on the old scale because their documents haven’t been verified yet, the official said. The government has decided to go for online verification of the testimonials of the teachers whose details are still to be examined to avoid delay in the process of regularising the jobs, the official said.

The principal of a college in south Calcutta said of the 14 part-time and contractual teachers in the college, the verification process of 11 teachers had been completed before March 18. The verification of the remaining three is being done online, the principal said.

After the chief minister’s announcement last year, education minister Partha Chatterjee had said the government would examine several factors before offering the revised benefits to the teachers.

The verification is necessary because the government had said it would bear the funds needed by colleges to pay salaries on the new scale to part-time, contractual and guest lecturers.

In the present system, colleges pay salaries to these teachers from their own funds generated by students’ tuition and other fees