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Teachers’ Forum Condemns DU over Displacement of Ad Hoc Faculty

By DU Beat May 3, 2023

On Monday, May 1, the Indian National Teachers’ Congress (INTEC) condemned the displacement of ad hoc teachers of Delhi University. Additionally, it demanded that there be no further displacements. In colleges of the University, where officiating principals are present, the forum demanded that selection interviews be undertaken immediately.

According to sources, around 75% of Ad Hoc faculty were left jobless despite having worked in colleges of the University for decades. In a statement issued by INTEC, chairman Pankaj Garg reportedly spoke about the lack of transparency in interviews for permanent positions at the University.

From the very beginning, the teacher selection process in various constituent colleges had become a mockery. Interviews were taken for two to three minutes and selections were made, which reflected nepotism and favouritism.

-Dr. Pankaj Garg, chairman of INTEC

Teachers who have already been displaced have claimed that the recruitment procedure and University Grants Commission (UGC) guidelines prioritise the interview over teaching experience or prior research.

“When a long-serving ad hoc teacher, after displacement, goes to another college for interviews, they are humiliated by asking the reason behind them not being selected in the college they were working in. Ad hoc teachers working in colleges where officiating principals are present are feeling insecure as there has been no initiative of conducting interviews in their colleges so far.” – Garg, also a mathematics teacher at Rajdhani College, DU.

The forum also asked for the posting of advertising of job openings for teachers in the 12 DU colleges that receive funding from the Delhi government. These include Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies, Deen Dayal Upadhyaya College, and Maharaja Agrasen College among others.

“The executive council had said that the interview process in colleges where officiating principals are present should also begin. It is under process and scrutiny of applications is on. As for the 12 colleges that are funded by the Delhi government, we are awaiting the list of members for the governing body and hence, we have not been able to begin the process in those colleges.”

– Prof.Yogesh Singh, Vice-Chancellor of DU.

The unfortunate reported suicide of the late Mr. Samarveer Singh has brought back attention to the ad hoc displacement crisis, which started in September 2022. Mr. Singh was fired, after more than five years of service as an assistant professor of philosophy at Hindu College, amidst the ongoing interview process for permanent positions. Teachers and students have expressed their outrage at the situation and continue to demand justice.

Featured Image Credits: DU Beat Archives

Manvi Goel

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Features

Can I Count on you?

By Ankita Baidya April 21, 2022

A teacher-student relationship is one of a kind. We look upto them for every hiccup and every smile. However, as we grow up, are they still there?

Reminiscing the bygone days, I remember the jitters I used to get on the first day of any session. Who will be our class teacher? Will she be strict? While these questions made circles in our mind, our teacher used to enter with a big and bright smile and that was the point where we realised that it is the right and the safest place to be. Her charm worked as a soothing balm for all our pain and emotions and her words of wisdom made us able enough to be where we are at the moment. Reeling back to the school days, our teacher meant the world to us. She became the parent figure that we never anticipated.

I still remember the time when I messed up with the answer script back in class 10th. It was late at night, around 11pm, when my phone rang. The next thing I know that my teacher was giving me an earful and to be honest, I deserved it. Had it not been for my teacher’s support, my paper would definitely have been cancelled. Not only for this instance, but she was my anchor throughout my school life. Never had I anticipated that a teacher at my school would become such an integral part of my life, to whom I would turn for every minute thing. She was always there through all my highs and lows. She believed in me and helped me nurture and identify my potential. She looked out for me as any parent would do. The connection I had with her and the bond I shared was one of a kind and as I moved to college, I did not anticipate such a thing but yearned for it to happen.

College in its full glory is all good and hearty. Undoubtedly, new friends and a new environment induces some other level of excitement but what about the perpetual connection with the professors? Or is it only a give and take relationship for notes and lectures? I never thought I would long for such a bonding that I shared in my school days but sometimes it makes me wonder if I would ever get a chance to become a little kid for them. It would have been my sheer honour to share something special with them, something that would spell wisdom and guidance. Not disagreeing with the fact that they are there if we need them but it just has some missing links which makes me come back to my question, whether I can count on them as more than a teacher?

Nevertheless, it startles me to see how every time a student messes up, the teachers stand in unison to take up the role of their protector. This very feeling makes each of us feel safe and secure and that’s something we as students never want to lose. At the end, all I can say is no matter how many transitions we go through, the love and respect for our teachers remain constant.

Image Caption: Teacher, will you be there even when I grow up?

Image Credits: Tuio

Ankita Baidya

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Campus Central

SAR GEELANI, EX-DU PROFESSOR, ACQUITTED IN 2001 PARLIAMENT ATTACK, PASSES AWAY

By Shaurya Thapa October 26, 2019

The former professor of Arabic at Zakir Hussain College, famed for his political opinions and alleged affiliations, passed away on Thursday, October 24^th, following a cardiac arrest.

Syed Abdul Rahman Geelani, aged 50, fell unconscious in a South Delhi gym on the afternoon of October 24^th and was rushed to Fortis Hospital. However, Geelani could not be revived and died due to a cardiac arrest, his son Atif confirmed.

SAR Geelani was arrested by the Delhi Police in 2001, on suspicion of connection with the Parliament Attack case. He was sentenced to death by a special Sessions court on charges of abetting terrorism. However, this conviction was set aside by the Delhi High Court in 2003, on account of flimsy, insufficient evidence. The decision was upheld by the apex court in 2005. Though the Supreme Court ratified the high court’s decision, it said it remained “suspicious of his (Geelani’s) role”.

In 2005, after his acquittal, he was shot at when he was en route to meet his lawyer. After this incident, he came under the protection of the Delhi Police.

In the aftermath of his arrest and subsequent vindication, Geelani gave an appalling and explicit account of his interrogation and torture at the hands of Delhi Police and intelligence agencies in Nitya Ramakrishnan’s book, In Custody: Law, Impunity and Prisoner Abuse in South Asia. The interview unveiled the alleged systemic maltreatment of prisoners and undercover operations of state agencies.

In 2016, days after the arrest of student leader, Kanhaiya Kumar for raising alleged anti-national slogans, Geelani was charged with sedition for organizing an event against the execution of Parliament attack convict, Afzal Guru.

Since Geelani was a protectee of the Delhi Police, his post-mortem was conducted at AIIMS to avoid any ensuing controversial situations or conspiracies.

On Friday afternoon, SAR Geelani’s body was taken to Kashmir so his final rites could be performed in his hometown, Baramulla.

Image Credits: Indian Express Archive

Prisha Saxena

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