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Student Assaulted During Anti-CAA Protest in Hansraj College

By DU Beat January 13, 2020

On 13th January 2020, the students of Hansraj College, University of Delhi (DU) stopped peaceful protests from happening while a student in the protest alleged violence by a faculty member.

On 13th January, the students of Hansraj College had given a call for a collective reading of the Preamble of the Indian Constitution and Swami Vivekananda’s historic Chicago Speech. However, as soon as a few of the students had gathered, holding the Indian flag in their hands, the Principal, Dr Rama, came with a few faculty members and started snatching the flag from their hands, taking away their mobile phones and dispersing the crowd.

“I reached LP at 11 am with the National Flag and posters. Dr Rama, The Principal, was already present there with few other teachers and admin staff and was forcing students to vacate the space. Then she rushed towards me and my friend who was holding the other end of the Flag, and tried to snatch the flag. A student also tried to assault us and take away the Flag,” said a student, who wishes not to be named fearing action from the college authorities.

Also, Gaurav Kumar, Physical Education, Professor at Hansraj College, allegedly physically assaulted a third year student due to his participation in the protest.

“Sir told me that he will drag me out of the hostel and beat me up and no one will be able to do anything. Now the problem is, I cannot go anywhere, even the college is adamant on proving me wrong. I’ve filed a written complaint with Rama Ma’am,” the victim told DU Beat.

He added, “Gaurav had a grudge against me as a few days ago, I had shared a screenshot of a post where our professor was using a fake news to attack an actress.”

However, the Assistant Professor denied the claim. The Professor said, “I had confronted him regarding the post, but didn’t touch him. He is lying.”

The student has demanded that the administration of the Hansraj College file an FIR against the teacher, and suspend him until an investigation takes place. Students have decided to hold protests if action is not taken against him.

The original complaint sent to the College administration by the victim.

While all of this was happening, a group of students organised a protest supporting the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) in College ground. The administration was lax in reaching out to stop the gathering and was able to stop the pro-CAA gathering, not before videos were made and slogans and chants raised.

Feature Image Credits: Anonymous

Bazinga

Bazinga: DU Cancels First-Period Classes Due to Fog

By DU Beat January 13, 2020

The University of Delhi (DU) has decided to cancel all the first period classes of the colleges under the University, due to heavy fog and biting cold in the Capital.

On 4th January 2020, DU released a notice, stating its temporary policy to cancel all morning classes till 15th January. DU has adopted this policy due to the heavy presence of fog in the capital.

The notice reads, “This is to inform all the students of the University of Delhi (DU) that all classes taking place in the first period according to college timetable are to be cancelled till the 15th of January due to the presence of heavy fog in the city. The classes will continue as intended from the second period onwards.”

For some colleges like Hindu College, the first period starts at 8:50 a.m, for some like Mata Sundri College, it is 9 a.m, while for some colleges like Miranda House, it is at 8:30 a.m.

Jogesh K Tyagi, Vice Chancellor, DU, added that the University administration has taken this decision as a step towards its new policy of being more student-friendly. They plan on carrying out more policies like this in the future.

Rajesh R. Verma, a Professor of Hindi, said, “The students in the morning are drowsy during the first period and the fog will only heighten this. Moreover, students a lot of times tend to skip the first classes due to the fog. This might lead to them missing out on their course material. I think this is a move taken in favour of the students and I appreciate it. I hope the students won’t miss the other classes now.”

Sakshi Sharma, a student of Hansraj College, said, “I welcome this change made by DU. It takes me about two hours to come to college from home. In the fog, it’s especially difficult to travel. It’ll be a great relief for both students and teachers.”

However, Saumya Rao, a third-year student, disagreed with the move, saying, “I don’t think there’s any point in cancelling the classes. Bad weather days may come and go, but I don’t think our routine life should change because of that. This will only lead to us missing out on our syllabus and then cramming during the end. I wish the University focused more on important things like infrastructure.”

While this is going to be implemented only till 15th January, worsening of weather conditions may lead to further changes and cancellation of classes.

Disclaimer: Bazinga is our weekly column of almost believable fake news. It is only to be appreciated and not accepted!

Feature Image Credits: DU Beat Archives

Satviki Sanjay

UGC Proposes On-Demand Exams for Undergraduate Level

By DU Beat January 2, 2020

University Grants Commission (UGC) has requested the current government to introduce on-demand examinations at the undergraduate level to reduce failures and malpractices that happen during scheduled exams. UGC also wants to ensure that the decision to appear for the exam comes from the students and not the institution.

The University Grants Commission (UGC) panel has suggested that on-demand examinations be introduced for students at the undergraduate level. UGC has proposed for a National Board to conduct examinations emphasising on “exams should be held when the learner is ready” and urged the current Modi government to introduce the initiative.

This proposal would be a reform by the UGC panel on evaluation. The proposal would reorganise and rearrange matters that relate to examinations which were set up in May 2018 in a committee that was chaired by Vice Chancellor, Bharati Vidyapeeth (Deemed to be University), Pune, M.M. Salunkhe.

According to the report submitted by UGC last week, the UGC panel stated, “Assessment can take place when the learners consider themselves ready to appear. Thus readiness depends on the learner and not institutions.” The panel also added that this initiative would lead to a reduction in failures and also malpractices that occur during scheduled examinations.

The plan suggested an extensive use of automation and technology, with question papers being drawn from a question bank. The Board suggested that the on-demand exams should first begin for distance mode programmes and then be implemented to all other eligible programmes without any age or eligibility restrictions.

UGC also recommended setting up of a National Board that would deal with the operation and execution of these on-demand examinations. “Uniform grading and credit transfer policies must be evolved for this to work”, said the report by the UGC panel.

This evaluation reform is based on the poor nature of University’s productivity. It also aims to change the dearth of employment that Indian graduates and postgraduates face.

Though many students welcome the idea, thinking it to be synonymous to the GMAT tests, others remain sceptical. Nidhi, second-year student, Daulat Ram College told DU Beat, “The idea is good and is definitely an attempt to show that universities and the educational committees are trying to be more student-friendly, and are finally catching up to international standards.”

She further added, “However, I don’t think universities- or least the government universities have enough resources to be able to implement these efficiently. This will ultimately lead to chaos and in the end, it will up to us students to bear the brunt of all the poor implementation.”

Teachers also echoed similar concerns about the inefficiency of the suggestion. As reported by The Print, Professor Amita Singh, Centre for the Study of Law and Governance, Jawaharlal Nehru University said, “A university is not a call centre that can work 24X7 to fulfil the demands of innumerable students. Academic preparation needs discipline, a conducive environment for students to think, discuss and debate while preparing for exams. There should also be the availability of libraries, books, coffee shops and hostels.”

However, keeping the debate of efficiency aside, it must be noted that while the UGC issued guidelines to all universities in 2015 to offer students a choice based credit system, the current reality is that there is little flexibility or choice for learners. It added that students should have the freedom to opt for courses beyond their core specialisations.

Feature Image Credits: India Today

Shreya Juyal

Arts & Culture

Writing’s on the wall: the walls of North Campus

By Shaurya Thapa December 30, 2019

Every aspect of North Campus has its own story to tell. Just take the walls for instance; there is something or the other stuck, painted, splattered on these walls that are bound to catch your eye.

One can begin their “Dilli Deewar Darshan” with a common DU thing i.e. student politics. Take the left or the right, various shades of political opinion are expressed on the bricks that form the foundations of several colleges and lanes. This definitely includes the posters and bills featuring quirky close-up photographs with loud fancy fonts. Even before a fresher gets to know about parties like ABVP and NSUI, he will know who is Rocky Tuseer, Rajat Chaudhary or Mahamedha Nagar, all thanks to the endless posters and vibrant graffiti. Getting layers of these posters is like a monthly affair for many such “walls for democracy” in the campus. And some of the thin paper bills even start getting shredded over time making the wall look like a bizarre work of modern art. Sometimes rain might be the reason for the tearing away of these posters. However, we all know that rain and Delhi don’t have long-lasting relationships. So, one might wonder which beast goes on scratching off these posters in a savage fashion ravaging our North Campus walls.

However, the walls don’t get tattooed with the names of DUSU candidates always. Sometimes there are scribbles of meaningful text and art as well. Many free thinkers and peaceful revolutionaries form a part of the DU family and their mental product is reflected on the walls too. For instance, you can spot the words “Free Saibaba” spray-painted in different areas. This refers to the sudden arrest of DU Professor GN Saibaba who has been hailed as a crusader for peasant movements. Some detailed imagery and messages can also be found relating to women empowerment, road safety and menstruation awareness. These adornments to the North Campus walls are much needed for the aesthetic appeal and social relevance.

Talking about art and politics and social messages, it is no surprise that the Father of the Nation is also a featured guest. Mahatma Gandhi’s face is virtually everywhere in the country be it in textbooks or currency notes or the DU walls. A few walls near Vishwavidyalaya metro station and the souvenir shop, in particular, have several bright murals on Gandhi’s morals (no pun intended). Apart from Gandhi, historical greats like Swami Vivekananda and Bhagat Singh also keep a watchful eye on the students of DU.

A knowledge hub like Delhi University attracts people from diverse parts of the country. Many shift to North Campus with hopes, dreams and their parents’ money in their pocket and tend to shift in flats and PGs. So, it’s no surprise that amongst the tons of Post It notes stuck on the walls, advertisements for PG and other facilities occupy a major share too (especially on the Kamala Nagar and Hudson Line side). The names and ads are totally random so you can expect anything from “Radhe Radhe Boys PG” to “Cook Dhoni”.

Ranging from mundane to outrageous, these walls are something which makes North Campus what it is. The walls are filled with diverse colours, fonts, political parties, student unions, rebel messages, and paintings. Maybe indirectly, this symbolises the whole DU culture itself, a life filled with hues, cultures and ideas of all sorts…

Featured Image credits- Shaurya Singh Thapa

Shaurya Singh Thapa

Forget Pooja, but ABVP, what is this behaviour?

By Shaurya Thapa December 18, 2019

As student protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act engulfed Delhi University too, members from Akhil Bhartiya Vidya Parishad (ABVP) raised their ugly head.

If you are following the news lately, you know what’s happening all over the country right now. The internet shutdown on North-Eastern states has been lifted only today but since the last week, protests in solidarity with these states have been progressing in full swing. Even though the causes have slightly altered with the student protestors expressing rage against the communal nature behind the CAA, the north-east states (especially Assam and Meghalaya) have been protesting mainly against illegal immigrants.

Yet their enemy is the same, the ruling government.

Clearly the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) backed ABVP supports the Bill as it has been passed under the ruling government’s tenure. Well, they are entitled to their opinions but then in the past few days, they have been trying to force their opinions on others. Ah, this is something which wouldn’t surprise people as this is what makes most of the ABVP leaders (or goons) famous (infamous).

The day before yesterday, when protestors gathered at Arts Faculty for a peaceful protest against the police brutality observed in Jamia Millia Islamia and Aligarh Muslim University, ABVP leaders like Ankita Biswas (the president of ABVP’s Hindu College unit) and members like Rahul Choudhary were caught on camera assaulting the protestors. They want to paint these protests as ‘communist’ just because many AISA (All India Students’ Association) and SFI (Students’ Federation of India) members had participated in the demonstrations.

But as per first-hand accounts, no Leftist propaganda is being shared over here. The students are coming together just to protest and express their displeasure at the government. But again, the ABVP unsurprisingly remain adamant with their false claims.

Just take into account Gaurav Chanana’s open proclamations of violence on his Whatsapp stories. Chanana is a zonal coordinator for the ABVP and two days back, he wrote ‘DU mei communist ki safai pichle 5 ghante se chal rahi hai…aap bhi aaye’ (which translates to ‘Communists are being beaten up in DU since the last 5 hours…You’re also requested to join’).

He followed it up yesterday by sharing a report by The Quint detailing the extent to which student protestors in Delhi have been injured and hospitalized. Chanana proudly claims, ‘Yeh hai ABVP ke sher, Agli baar DU mei aane se pehle 10 baar sochna, rashtra vidhrohiyo’ (‘This is the might of ABVP’s lions. Next time, think 10 times before entering DU, you anti-nationals’).

Yesterday in fact, ABVP started its own counter-protest ‘in support of CAA’ at 12 noon (even though they wrote 12 am on their poster, yes that happened). When the protest by other students, and AISA/SFI members against the CAA started in Arts Fac, ABVP tried shouting more and more to show their might but to no avail. So, what did they do?

Of course, they used force.

Prominent incidents that got captured on video include ABVP members pulling out people from the protest at Arts Faculty and demanding them to take out their ID cards (with the police standing nearby and nodding to this). Now, in order to just protest or put forward opinions in a gathering, we need an ID card?

The ABVP person in the forefront in this video was Akshit Dhaiya, President of the Delhi University Students’ Union. A counter-view has been given by some people (some of whom are ABVP supporters themselves) is that he just pulled this student out of the crowd and asked for his ID card for the student’s ‘own protection’. This seems like a very conveniently worded excuse.

The last straw to ABVP’s notorious actions yesterday was another video which was shared yesterday (the cover image of the article is taken from it) where a male student (who has requested us not to share the video) is surrounded by two male ABVP members on a bench. With threatening voices and words, they demand to know the student’s stance on the CAA. Then they go on asking if he was in the protest against CAA, and if he was, then why.

Alas! It’s ABVP which is the dominant party in DUSU and despite these instances of hooliganism, they continue to say that DU stands in solidarity with the Citizenship Amendment Act. Just come to North Campus’ Arts Faculty or Campus Law Centre and you’ll figure out how much DU is actually supporting the Act!

But despite this continuous goonish behaviour, the protestors in DU stand undeterred and continue to take their stand.

The irony is that back in the 1970s, the ABVP itself engaged in large-scale protests against the authoritarian regime of PM Indira Gandhi. And now, look how the tables have turned.

Featured Image Credits- Pinjratod

Shaurya Singh Thapa

MHRD issues a statement on JNU protests, offers mediation between stakeholders

By DU Beat December 14, 2019

The Jawaharlal Nehru University has been, for the past 50 days, since the controversial release of the Inter-House Manual on 28^th October. But it all seemed to be over on December 13^th, when the Ministry of Human Resource Development released a mediating statement based on talks between JNU Administration, JNUSU and MHRD. However, are all the stakeholder’s satisfied? Read further to find out.

The Ministry of Human Resource Development after a series of talks with the JNU Administration and the JNU Students’ Union put forward the aforementioned statement. In the statement, the MHRD states that the fee of a single occupant room and the double occupant room remain Rs.300 and Rs.600 respectively. While the BPL or Below Poverty Line students will get a concession of 50% on the fee. All of the costs of utilities and services shall be borne by the University Grant’s Commission or UGC. The MHRD has also directed the administration to adhere by the Delhi High Court’s orders and therefore notify JNUSU. Furthermore, the statement has requested the Academic Council to give the students relaxation of two weeks to compensate for the loss of the academic period. In addition to this, the MHRD has directed the JNU Administration to take a ‘Lenient View’ on the incidents that have occurred since October 2019. Lastly, via this statement, the JNUSU has been directed to stop all kinds of dharnas around the administrative, academic blocks and in the residential areas of the varsity staff. The MHRD has urged both the JNUSU and JNU Administration to take immediate steps for the restoration of the normal functioning of the university. It has also been directed that any further issue shall be resolved only via dialogue as per university statutes.

Talking to us, Musaib Ul Haq, the JNUSU hostel prefect, says, “JNUSU has from the beginning of this protest demanded a full rollback and therefore we reject anything which is short of that. Most of our demands have not been met and apart from that, we demanded the taking back of all the cases against agitating students. However, the statements only use the word ‘lenient action towards the protesting students’ which is why we have maintained that the language used in the notice is just unacceptable. Our slogan for these protests is ‘Complete rollback and not an inch back’ therefore for us the talks are still on and nothing is decided yet. Our movement is still on and it will continue, there is no call back of these protests as of now. Apart from this, there was a meeting with the JNU Administration just yesterday wherein all the senior admin members like the Dean of Students were present. But, as of now the movement has not finished and is still continuing.”

Even though the stakeholders in this issue still do not find themselves on the same page but what has become better is that a deadlock has been broken and the JNUSU and JNU Administration have now started a dialogue. As one of the main issues of the protests since its inception is the lack of communication between the students and the administration. Thus, the solution to this problem now seems to be feasible.

Featured Image Credits- ANI

Aniket Singh Chauhan

A Bill becomes an Act, and a Promise becomes a Joke: Citizenship Amendment Act is about religion but more than that

By Shaurya Thapa December 14, 2019

There have been some misconceptions in the past few days regarding the nature of the recent protests in Assam and other North-Eastern states. And therefore, some have been shying away from talking about it. Others are misinformed thinking the Assamese people are just protesting about religion, ignoring the whole debate about ‘illegal migration’. Here’s a deeper look.

While Assam faces an internet shutdown, other Indians are learning more and more about the Citizenship Amendment Act. The Internet itself is offering differing points of view. While some are understanding how the protests in North-East are dissatisfied voices against fall promises, the Twitter handles of prominent Right-wing leaders try assuring us that everything is all right. Some have even gone to the extent of calling this a massive conspiracy; director Vivek Agnihotri (a very ‘right’ individuals with often wrong assumptions) says that Pakistan is supplying arms to these protesters in Assam and goes on to call the movement against Citizenship Amendment Act, ‘Pakistan’s revenge for Kashmir’!

But those who can figure out the wrongs, are out on the streets even in Delhi, looking beyond their privilege and uniting for solidarity with the North-East, a region which mainland India has ignored more than often. Yesterday, Jamia Milia Islamia’s peaceful march by students and staff to the Parliament wasn’t allowed to step beyond the college gates too as the police engaged in lathi charges, and used tear gas to disperse the crowds. Another march took place to Jantar Mantar today.

Contrary to the anger amongst Delhi’s youth, the Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) led Delhi University Students’ Union, posted a message on their social media handles on 11^th December, which didn’t surprise many. ‘ABVP wholeheartedly welcomes passage of the #CitizenshipAmendmentBill2019 in the Upper House of the Parliament of India. The persecuted minorities from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh will now be able to get citizenship of India and lead a life of dignity.’

Clearly, the Citizenship Amendment Bill which now became an Act has a religious background to it, for the Centre which backed it. If you look at it from a simplistic perspective, you would think that the only controversial aspect of the bill as many of you know, is just the fact that Muslim migrants from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh would be denied easy citizenship in India as these countries already have an Islamic majority. The central government in the nation and DUSU out here in Delhi University want you to see the Act only in terms of religion. And obviously, in terms of religion, the Act is biased as it seems to allow persecuted Hindus, Sikhs, and Buddhists from such countries (as if Muslims cannot be persecuted at all in these countries). So, that’s how the initial buzz around Citizenship Amendment developed in the cities. #MuslimLivesMatter is trending amongst many Instagram posts and for the right reason.

Official post by ABVP

But now, with the rise in violence and chaos, and the deployment of paramilitary in the North-East, we must be informed that it’s not the communal angle for which the locals are fighting authority. They are angered by a promise that got broken, proving again that the mainland cares little for them.

To quote an Assamese friend (who wishes to remain unnamed for now), ‘Assamese people voted for BJP hoping that the party will remove illegal migrants. But now this selective bias of keeping some migrants, and removing the rest, means that our demands mean nothing for them.’ To put it in a nutshell, the inhabitants of Assam and other states of the North-East don’t wish to have anyone don’t want to provide refuge anymore to illegal migrants.

Whether a person follows Hinduism or Islam, speaks Bengali or Assamese, that is not the first priority for the protesters. All that bothered these protesters was if a person is in an illegal immigrant and all. Early on this year, the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam was riddled with its own problems (many ‘true’ inhabitants’ names were removed while many ‘illegal foreigners’ made it to the list), but it did offer the locals some hope. Now, with the BJP-led Centre’s plan of selectively choosing who will stay in Assam, and who will not, has turned the NRC into a joke.

Again, those who are looking at this issue from their simplistic bubble might interpret the current rage in Assam as ‘xenophobic’. But we should take a minute to understand the situation over there. An already overlooked region, the North-East has limited land and limited resources, and cultural identities (note we’re talking about cultural identity, not religious identity) of the people here are endangered. They just can’t afford to hold any illegal immigrants; such demands and issues have been raised by the region for so long. And what did the North-Easterners get in return for these demands: a joke.

A joke that became a bill and now has turned into an Act.

Hence, if you are reading up about the Act and the rage around it, please don’t just look at it from a simplistic understanding. It’s not possible to think about what the locals must be feeling there, but try to broaden your thought. After all, even the bespectacled debating lapdog of the Centre has gone against the Centre this time!

Know that the Act is definitely communal, but also heavily exploitative of the demands of a cultural and numerical minority. Today, one section of this country saw its electoral rights being played with to suit the Centre’s own agendas, tomorrow it might be your rights, your identity, that might become a joke…

Featured Image Credits- Biju Boro

Shaurya Singh Thapa

DUTA Marches to Parliament Street; Writes to HRD Minister

By DU Beat December 13, 2019

On December 9th, as a part of the indefinite strike against the Ad-Hoc Crisis, more than 3000 teachers of the DUTA marched to Parliament Street to demand absorption of all ad-hoc teachers.

The Delhi University Teachers’ Association (DUTA)’s movement for the absorption of ad-hoc and temporary teachers has intensified over the past week. More than three thousand teachers marched to Parliament Street on 9th of December, where many of them courted arrest with the DUTA leadership.

DUTA began protesting from 4th of December, the protest that initially began outside of VC office has seen some improvements. The protest continued day and night,. in many parts of the National Capital. It has seen many forms of protesting like Vice-Chancellor (VC) Office Gherao, candlelight marches, “We Are Our Families” and much more.

After much struggle, the Ministry of Health and Development (MHRD), agreed to some of the urgent demands of the DUTA, including the amendment to the 28th August DU Administration Circular and the counting of past services in all pending cases of promotions as per the 2018 Career Advancement Scheme. However, the demands for the absorption of ad-hoc teachers and the counting of total years of service for promotions have not been conceded to by the MHRD.

The ad-hoc teachers were let go all, overnight, by the decree of the 28th August Circular, the inhuman and exploitative conditions under which Adhoc teachers have been forced to work for many years, including the denial of minimum employee rights like maternity leave etc. can only be mitigated through absorption as believed by the DUTA.

In order to gain more momentum to the movement, The DUTA leadership has written a letter to the HRD Minister, urging the Ministry to initiate further dialogue on all the urgent and pending issues that have been ignored till now.

In a letter titled ‘Demand for a UGC Regulation for the One-Time Absorption of temporary and ad-hoc teachers and other crucial demands of teachers of Delhi University’, addressed to Sh. Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’, Hon’ble Minister, Ministry of Human Resources Development, the DUTA has welcomed the timely intervention of the MHRD and UGC in meeting the teachers’ representatives to find solutions and the acceptance of some of their key demands through the Ministry’s communication dated 5th December 2019.

The letter also mentions other unaddressed demands of the Association such as that the Second Tranche positions of the much delayed Other Backward Classes (OBCs) Expansion and Economically Weaker Section (EWS) Expansion be immediately utilized and added to the teaching roster following the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) guidelines. In this context, the DUTA also demands that the Kale Committee report be adopted and implemented in Delhi University and that the University Grants Commission (UGC) sanctions posts for self-financing courses and absorbs teachers working on these positions.

The DUTA has also been demanding an end to the constant threat to the service conditions of the teachers of Physical Education in the University.

DUTA, has also, allegedly said, “…if the MHRD continues to ignore the DUTA’s pending demands, it will face the collective ire of the teaching community.”

In light of these recent developments in the teachers’ resistance movement in the University, Rajib Ray, President DUTA, in conversation with DU Beat, encouraged the student-teacher collective step-up their involvement in the movement for teachers’ welfare and an efficient education system.

Featured Image Credits: DNA India

Chhavi Bahmba

Bhavya Pandey

DU Responds to DUTA protests, Urges Teachers to Cooperate

By DU Beat December 13, 2019

Senior Academicians and Deans of some faculties of the University of Delhi held a meeting on December 8th, 2019, following which, a Press Release was put up on the University Website.

Responding to the ongoing boycott of duties as well as protests being held by the Delhi University Teachers’ Association (DUTA), the University of Delhi (DU) administration has released a statement on their official website.

The statement reads that in the meeting of Senior Academicians and Deans of some faculties of the University, the members were of the ‘view that the ongoing agitation by the DUTA is adversely affecting the students and damaging the reputation of the University.’

Thousands of teachers of Delhi University, who have been on an indefinite strike since last week, held a rally at North Campus on Tuesday, December 10th, 2019 demanding the absorption of ad-hoc teachers.

“The inhuman and exploitative conditions under which ad-hoc teachers have been forced to work for years, including the denial of minimum employee rights like maternity leave and others, can only be mitigated through absorption,” the DUTA said in a statement.

Although the teachers movement has resulted in some of their demands being met, and the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) was quick to accede to the union’s immediate demands to withdraw a controversial circular calling for the appointment of guest teachers, the demand for one-time appointment and others such as counting of total years of service for promotions were not addressed, the union said, calling for the initiation of further dialogue by authorities.

Further, the letter issued by the University administration urges the DUTA and its members to ‘comply with the Code of Professional Ethics of Teachers under the University Grants Commission (UGC) regulations on Minimum Qualifications for Appointment of Teachers and Other Academic Staff in Universities and Colleges 2018.”

Lastly, the Senior Academicians and Deans, unanimously and unequivocally, once again ‘urged the DUTA to call off its agitation immediately and work towards achieving academic excellence.”

Image Credits: News18

Bhavya Pandey