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.
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Manvi Goel
