Rajib Ray, on Friday, was elected as the president of DUTA for the second term, defeating AK Bhagi by 269 votes.
Rajib Ray was elected as the president of Delhi University Teachers’ Association (DUTA) for the second term, on Friday.
Ray, belonging to Left-affiliated Democratic Teachers’ Front (DTF) defeated right-affiliated National Democratic Teachers’ Front’s (NDTF) candidate AK Bhagi by a margin of 269 votes.
Elections took place on Thursday with a turnout of 82.36 per cent where Ray managed to win 3,750 votes in comparison to Bhagi’s 3,481 votes. 518 votes were found to be invalid, according to officials.
Speaking on his victory, the second time DUTA president said, “It’s a significant win for me and the DUTA because, despite getting little relief in the last two years, teachers have kept faith on the Union.”
Ray elaborated upon the issues faced by teachers of the varsity and laid out his plan for the tenure as he said, “I have to enable all DUTA Executive members, regardless of their political or ideological affiliations, the most confident and conducive ground to fearlessly raise issues and work for teachers.”
“The union and this University owe a lot to the contribution of our colleagues who have been working on a temporary and ad-hoc basis. They deserve to be absorbed in permanent jobs. DU teachers also need time-bound promotions and seniority restored to them. That is non-negotiable. DUTA will put a focused effort in this direction”, he further added.
Further augmenting his vision for the teachers, he said, “Teachers are extremely unhappy with the NEP in its present form. We will continue to put pressure on the Government to be more open-minded about the policy framework and make changes that are genuinely pro-teacher. The educational policy must strengthen the public-funded system rather instead of weakening its foundations.”
Rajib Ray was elected as DUTA president in 2017 as well. The tenure of a president lasts for two years.
Featured Image Credits- Democratic Accent
Image Caption- Rajib Ray belongs to left-affiliated Democratic Teachers’ Front (DTF).
Shreya Agrawal