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Students and karamcharis join DUTA in its march against ‘Autonomy’

By Vineeta Rana April 1, 2017

With growing demands against the grant of ‘autonomous’ status for colleges, Delhi University Teacher’s Association(DUTA) called had called for a joint protest of students, teachers and karamcharis on 29th March.

What drew along the course of the March?
On 29 March 2017, the Delhi University Teachers’ Association (DUTA) organised a march from Mandi House to Jantar Mantar in protest against the recent actions of the government in light of the demands for autonomy by certain colleges in the University. The government has supported these demands for autonomy without any exhaustive deliberation in the Parliament or even in any public domain. The march was a rally against the privatisation of education through the fragmentation of Delhi University. Teachers were quoted as saying that “education was not for sale” and that the government’s move would lead to quality education becoming unaffordable.

The teachers, students, and non-teaching staff, numbering more than three thousand, rallied against the proposal of the government to grant autonomous status to colleges on the basis of commercial ideas of accreditation and ranking. They stated that this would lead to self-financing and ergo the commercialisation of education. DUTA was also supported in their demand by the Delhi University and College Karamchari Union (DUCKU) as well as several student organisations such as the National Students Union of India (NSUI), the Chhatra Yuva Sangharsh Samiti (CYSS), the Students Federation of India (SFI), and the All India Students Association (AISA).

Protesters held banners asking the government to “Say No to the Fragmentation and Privatisation of DU through Autonomous Colleges

Why is ‘Autonomy’ not so good for DU Colleges?
The march was conducted specifically against the granting of the autonomous status to certain colleges by the government. To understand why this move matters, it is imperative to look at the actions of the government with scrutiny.

A leaflet given out during the march stated that the Autonomous Colleges Scheme aims to privatise and commercialise higher education by reducing the gap between public and private institutions in terms of fee structure.

DUTA claims that the granting of autonomy will in actuality only give autonomy to the management instead of providing academic autonomy. It shifts the focus from the betterment of education to the generation of resources by granting autonomy, and thus power, to the governing bodies and trustees of these colleges. The aim then essentially becomes to improve infrastructure and indulge in greater physical maintenance as opposed to providing a platform for academic growth.

As these colleges, which currently receive 95% of their funds from the University Grants Commission (UGC), will no longer be able to rely on government subsidies, they will turn to other measures including raising students’ fees and cutting costs to raise revenue. This affects the students as well as the teachers and the non-teaching staff. Firstly, students from economically and socially vulnerable backgrounds will have fewer avenues for availing quality education. Moreover, when education becomes expensive, the historically deprived sections of society such as women and Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes are further adversely impacted. Secondly, the autonomy of the management may lead to a decline in the job security or career advancement of the working staff. Working conditions may deteriorate and the pay structure may be compromised in the face of a profit-minded management.

DUTA claims that these harms outweigh the benefits that the government claims will occur. The autonomous status may allow colleges to start new academic courses and change their style of teaching, but they will not be free from the semester system or the Choice Based Credit System (CBCS). Additionally, colleges will still need to affiliate with DU in order to give degrees. This results in a mere “ceremonial connection with DU”, as stated by Abha Dev Habib, an active member of DUTA. Thus, as a direct consequence of the cutting down of funding for higher education, the granting of autonomy will only privatise and commercialise education.

Members speak out at the rally against autonomy

What were the consequences of the march?
Students and teachers who took part in the march are confident that the government will be forced to take notice of the citizens’ demands.

Ms. Abha Dev Habib, a member of DUTA acknowledged that the response from teachers was “tremendous” and that “the mobilisation for the programme was very successful”. She talked about Arun Jaitley’s inclusion of autonomous colleges in his budget speech with the establishment of the Higher Education Financing Agency (HEFA). Speaking of the current situation in autonomous institutions in our country she said, “IITs are a clear example of the rising fee structure in public institutions and the government’s plan of closing the gap between private and public educational institutions.”

Ms. Nandita Narain, the president of DUTA called upon all stakeholders of the institutions to join them in coming days. Giving a wake up call to the govt. she said, “Privatisation is not going to be accepted by the community and the people at large. We are going to fight all out.”

In the recent pasts universities have seen a lot of disturbances. Happenings around the campus like forcing the autonomous status on St. Stephens College, the fiasco at Ramjas College, attack on free speech and the massive seat cut in JNU admissions makes it eminent that the incumbent government is not so happy about the environments in campuses, and is determined to change it by hook or …!

Image Credits: The Hindu

Vineeta Rana

[email protected]

The crisis at Miranda House: 13 Ad hocs terminated, classes remain untaught

By Shubham Kaushik September 6, 2016

13 Ad hoc teachers were given termination letters in the middle of the semester in Miranda House on August 29, 2016. The move is being described as an ‘administrative lapse’ by the Principal and has been strongly opposed by the Miranda House Staff Association (MHSA) on the grounds that the teachers were appointed according to the latest ordinances issued by the University and in line with the requirements for the CBCS course framework. DUTA and MHSA held a joint press conference on September 5, 2016 to throw more light on the issue and to convey their strong protest against the sudden, arbitrary retrenchment.

What happened?

On August 23, the MHSA was informed of the college’s decision to terminate the contracts of 13 Ad hoc teachers across different departments. The move came after an ‘administrative lapse’ was discovered in exceeding the number of teachers that could be hired beyond a second tranche cap. The college had hired 210 teachers but had a cap of 194, making the terminated Ad hocs ‘surpluses’. The departments were asked to make changes to their previously approved workloads in order to terminate the required number of Ad hocs. The changes would have led to an increase in the workloads of all the professors, against the UGC workload norms, and an increase in the size of tutorials, against the CBCS requirements. Many departments refused to make these changes. The matter was also brought up with the Delhi University Teachers Association because of the grave injustice of the move being suggested. A DUTA team met the Principal, Dr. Pratibha Jolly, on August 26, 2016, and requested her to hold a Governing Body meeting before taking any decision. The matter wasn’t brought up with the University, despite Miranda House being a University-maintained and UGC funded college, neither was a Governing Body meeting called before 13 Ad hoc teachers were handed over termination letters on August 29, 2016 in the Principal’s absence, who left the country one day prior to this and hasn’t been available in college since then. A Delhi University official, on the condition of anonymity, told the Times of India that no one in the University knew about the situation till they read reports about it in the media. The one-line termination letter offered no reason for the termination and came out of the blue for 13 teachers who had already been teaching in Miranda House for over a month, if not more. The affected teachers were neither given any notice prior to the letter, nor any compensation, monetary or otherwise, of any sort. The move has also disturbed the reservation roster of the college, which needs to be according to the specific reservation requirements per category.

The larger issues at hand:

While the issue of the lives of 13 teachers being toyed with is already grave enough, it has even more implications if we consider the bigger issues that manifested themselves in Miranda House, and how they are going to end up affecting all colleges sooner or later. There is a discrepancy in the cap that colleges are expected to follow according to a 2004 UGC workload guideline and the requirement of teachers according to 2013 university ordinances and the CBCS requirements. The former allows Miranda House to have just 194 teachers whereas according to the latter, the requirement is of 210 teachers. Having followed the CBCS requirements, Miranda House found itself crossing the second tranche cap and decided to terminate 13 Ad hoc contracts, not having hired 3 of the 16 positions they had to fill. In other colleges, the situation has manifested itself in a different way – the required numbers of teachers aren’t hired in the first place and the employed professors are being overworked beyond the workload guidelines. It needs to be realised that stretching the existing number of teachers thin is not just flouting guidelines but also affecting their quality of work and the education being imparted in some of the top colleges of the country. It also has implications for the credits that students under CBCS are supposed to receive. Under CBCS, an hour of class counts for a credit and there are strict tutorial size requirements as well. With the academic life of the college being disrupted in the middle of the semester, and classes still untaught despite nearly a month and a half of classes, the current situation needs to be understood as a crisis in need of immediate attention.

What now?

The MHSA and DUTA are calling for the Governing Body to intervene and hold an emergency meeting to resolve the issue to protect the unfairly terminated teachers. They are asking for all 13 teachers to be reinstated by the college administration. The MHRD also wrote to the college, demanding an explanation for the sudden retrenchment of the teachers and how the college planned to continue regular classes. The college replied that it was going to call a Governing Body meeting soon and is trying to look for a solution. Meanwhile, the 13 Ad hoc teachers remain vulnerable, their classes untaught and the Principal still unavailable. DU Beat met two of the 13 affected teachers during the Press Conference to ask what they were planning to do about the issue at their own level. The teachers, for the time being, have put their trust in the MHSA and DUTA to protest on their behalf and protect their interests. The situation in Miranda House has exposed several issues in the functioning of the University, and the general attitude towards Ad hoc teachers,who are often treated as second-class citizens in their own workplaces and are overworked and undercompensated. DU Beat stands in solidarity with the MHSA, DUTA, and the Ad hoc teachers’ community of Delhi University. Feature image: Daily Mail Shubham Kaushik [email protected] ]]>

Miranda House sacks 16 ad-hocs in the middle of the semester; MHSA, DUTA and MHRD demand explanation

By Tooba Towfiq September 4, 2016

Miranda House, Delhi University. DUTA and the Miranda House Staff Association have raised their voice against the termination of the teachers, who had otherwise been appointed till November of this semester. The Principal of Miranda House claims that she made an administrative lapse in appointing 210 teachers. According to the authorities, the college can only provide the salaries for 160 sanctioned teachers and up to 193 posts that were promised as a part of the second tranche of OBC expansion. However, MHSA and DUTA oppose this and claim that the cap should have been considered prior to the appointment of the new ad hoc teachers. MHSA had even volunteered to raise funds from the permanent staff. College teachers had also been asked to redo their timetables in MH, which had recognised 16 ad hoc teachers as ‘surpluses’. Departments, such as the English Department of Miranda House had refused to make these changes on the grounds of being contrary to the guidelines set by the UGC. Earlier UGC had attempted to change the workload but this decision was withdrawn later. The work load had then slipped back to 16 Hours per week for assistant professors and 14 hours for the associate professors and professors. Nandini Dutta, who teaches Economics at Miranda House said to Times of India, “Our Timetables were drawn up as per the 16-14 hour norms. Now the college is insisting on 15 and 18. None of the documents placed before us to justify this are recent or valid.” According to MHSA and DUTA, the Principal had taken a decision without having consulted the governing body of DU or UGC. They have extended their full support and are demanding that the ad hocs should be reinstated. Thus, MHRD has taken up the matter and demanded an explanation for the same. Meanwhile, a large number of classes and study slots remain untaught and unattended because of the unavailability of teachers post the termination. DUTA and the MHSA will be organising a joint Press Conference addressing the issue at the DUTA office at 1.30 p.m. on September 5, 2016, and invite everyone to attend the conference to extend their support. Featured image credits: dailymail.co.uk Tooba Towfiq [email protected]]]>

Admissions 2016

DUTA to exempt third years’ papers from evaluation boycott; admission process might suffer

By Shubham Kaushik June 17, 2016

In a move that will come as a relief to thousands of final year students awaiting their semester 6 results for purposes that include VISA applications and Masters’ applications, the Delhi University Teachers’ Association (DUTA) decided to exempt the evaluation of the answer scripts of the erstwhile FYUP, that is, final year students from its protest action of evaluation boycott. At the same time, it has called for an intensification of protest and movement for the roll back of the API based promotion scheme.

The recent protests by DUTA resulted in the government backing out on the recent policy that would have resulted in an increase in the teaching hours required from each teacher, and would also lead to potential loss of employment for several of them. However, the government decided to continue with the API based promotion scheme, which, according to DUTA has proven to adversely affect teaching and learning. Another reason cited for the intensification of protests is the denial of permanent appointments and promotions of teachers for the last several years.

The intensification of protest will impact the first and the second year students, with the continued boycott of the evaluation of their answer scripts. It will also have serious ramifications for the upcoming admission process, with DUTA vowing to boycott all aspects of it.

Feature Image: The Hindu

Shubham Kaushik

Semester Exam evaluation stalled as DUTA protest continues

By Sidharth Yadav June 13, 2016

In a recent press release, the Delhi University Teachers’ Association (DUTA) has decided to continue its boycott of the recent semester exams evaluation till 16th June 2016, when the General Body (GB) will convene again to review the situation. The protest is in response to a notification by the UGC giving nod to the implementation of the Academic Performance Indicators (API) system and other amendments that DUTA calls ‘retrogressive’ and an ‘attack’ on the higher education system of the country. This is a setback for the graduating students of the varsity as this has put on hold the post-graduate admissions to the varsity and might even stall the declaration of the semester exam results. Calling the gazette notification ‘draconian’, the DUTA has gone far to claim that if the government fails to roll back the notification, it might consider boycotting the admission process as well. The API system allows for teachers to be evaluated on the basis of students’ performance, a manoeuvre DUTA has called ‘unreasonable’. Given the increase in the working hours of assistant professors from 16 hours to 24 cumulative hours and of associate professors from 14 to 22 cumulative hours, the DUTA claims that such a move will result in the loss of over 4,000 jobs and will work against the interests of both teachers and students. The Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), in contrast to its previous position has demanded an immediate rollback of the notification and urged the teaching community to ‘resume evaluation work immediately’ to avoid compromise of the students. Agreeing to one of the demands of the protesting teachers, the UGC, on 10th June 2016, decided to set up a 5 member pay revision committee for academic staff. The committee will be chaired by UGC member Prof. V S Chauhan and will submit its report in six months. With no end in sight, the UGC has claimed that the system will bring ‘more flexibility’ to the academic environment and ruled out any claims of loss of jobs due to it. Image Credits: www.tribuneindia.com Sidharth Yadav [email protected]]]>

DUB News

DU teachers boycott evaluation process, may affect UG results

By Riya Chhibber May 27, 2016

The Delhi University Teacher’s Association boycotted the evaluation of scripts for undergraduate examinations as on 24^th May against the UGC Gazette Notification of 4^th May which will lead to loss of jobs for around 5000 ad-hoc, temporary and guest teachers. Most of them have been teaching in the university for many years. All twelve evaluation centers were closed on the first day of boycott. Evaluation halls at Daulat Ram College and Miranda House were locked; the ones at Keshav Mahavidyalaya, Dyal Singh and Gargi colleges were vacant, as reported by a popular national daily.

According to a DUTA statement, the Amendment was issued under the guise of addressing the teacher’s grievances against the infamous API system which had led to large scale denial of promotions and devalued research and teaching. It also contained a secret clause that had a direct impact on the teachers’ working hours. For Assistant professors, the workload increased from 16 hours of direct teaching to 18 hours, plus 6 hours of tutorials. Similarly for Associate professors, working hours have been increased from 14 to 22 hours.

“DUTA demands that the government withdraws the Gazette notification immediately and initiates a dialogue with Teacher’s Associations on the issue”, said the statement.

Teachers across the University expressed their anger over a four day boycott during which period, Staff Associations will hold meetings and pass resolutions on the issue. A General Body Meeting of DUTA will be held on 28^th May to analyse the situation and decide further course of action. If the government does not withdraw the notification, teachers might even boycott the admission process.

Image credits : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Arindam Goswami

DUB News

ABVP protests against Prof. Saibaba’s rejoining, DUTA condemns move

By Riya Chhibber April 25, 2016

Ram Lal Anand Professor G.N. Saibaba, who was suspended from the university, following his arrest by Maharashtra Police in 2014 for alleged maoist links, recently became a centre of attack after his visit to the college. The English professor, who is out on bail, went to the college to submit a letter where he allegedly became a target of anger and protest by members of ABVP (Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad).

While Professor Saibaba might be hopeful of a fresh start, his request for reinstatement has invited mixed reactions. A group of students, led by the members of the ABVP, strongly oppose the professor’s rejoining unless he is cleared of all the charges by the court. Talking to us, ABVP’s Delhi State Secretary, Bharat Khatana, said, “Saibaba has been suspended by DU and despite that he is coming to the college and addressing students. We believe that unless he gets a clean chit from the court and the Governing Body (GB) of the college, he must not be allowed to enter the college premises.”

Despite the relentless protests and public bashing, DUTA strongly condemned the attack on Dr. Saibaba. DUTA President Nandita Narain, while emphasising on the lack of security for the professor, told us, “Had it not been for the protection given by some faculty members and hundreds of college students, Dr. Saibaba could have suffered grievous injury. The DUTA expresses grave concern that the college administration as well as the local police did not prevent this violent intrusion, even though similar incidents had taken place over the last few days. The DUTA appeals to the VC for his immediate intervention to prevent this breakdown of governance in this university maintained college.”

Sharing the same sentiment, Narendra Pande, Associate Professor from the Department of History and a colleague of Saibaba told us, ” There are two important things which we must keep in mind. One is that, rule of law must prevail and second that,any suspended employ has a right to approach his workplace. We met the chairman of the Governing Body of the college, Mr. R.M. Kohli today and he will soon foresee the situation himself. The Staff Association, which is the teacher’s collective body of the college, passed a resolution with consensus to expedite the functioning of the one—member committee which has been formed by the college to look into the issue.”

The Staff Association plan to impress upon the Chairman of the Governing Body as well as the Principal of the college to take steps in order to stop the breakdown of normal functioning of the college and the creation of a conducive and safe environment for teaching. The Supreme Court had earlier this month granted the professor bail on the pretext that Maharashtra government had been “extremely unfair” to him.

To recall the important twists and turns of the case, read our timeline of Saibaba’s case here.

Image credits: www.thehindu.com

Riya Chhibber

Events

DU talks about Dadri lynching

By Arushi Pathak October 11, 2015

With the issue attracting multitudes of attention with every passing day, the Dadri lynching incident has been a subject of regret ever since it surfaced. The primary question in each mind is whether this is the kind of development and leadership India wishes to progress under. While communal tension is something that has always been existing in India, the exploitation of this tension to such gravity is what concerns everyone. DU i

The Delhi University Teachers’ Association (DUTA) organised its Executive meeting earlier this week, where all members unanimously condemned the incident. The members expressed utter shock on the fact that the activities of the mob, which took away the life of that 50 year old man, were pushed by rumours that the family had eaten beef. The Association believes that this tragedy highlights the rising climate of hatred and tension across the nation.

Prof. Satish Deshpande, a DUTA member remarked, “I believe that under the present government, such incidents are not new. It’s the climate in which these incidents occur which is dangerous. The idea that the victim deserves such treatment is something of grave concern. The aberrational element is that the wrong people feel empowered, especially because of the fact that the government is not actively negating or condemning the incident. Strict law and order is needed to combat such situations.”

Areeb Mohammed, a student from Shaheed Bhagat Singh College, remarked that incidents like Dadri should not be allowed to disrupt the communal harmony of the country. “We are a free and secular country and that is what I’m proud of. We should raise our voice against such incidents to ensure they do not happen again.”

Featured Image Credits: timesofonam.com

Arushi Pathak
[email protected]

DUB News

Delhi University gears up for elections

By Sidharth Yadav August 18, 2015

Amidst uproars over the exploitation of employees and claims about the government’s commercialisation project engulfing the University by Left wing Democratic Teachers’ Front (DTF), various teachers associations announced their candidates for the Delhi University Teachers’ Association (DUTA) elections slated for the 27^th of this month. DTF, in a press release has appealed to the teachers of the University by attacking red tapism.

Nandita Narain, Associate Professor of Mathematics at St. Stephen’s College and the incumbent DUTA President has been nominated by the association for the position of President again this year. For the DUTA Executive, the nominated candidates are Angad Tiwari (Department of Hindi, Sri Aurobindo College- Evening), Bhupinder Chaudhry (Department of History, Maharaja Agrasen College), Vijaya Venkataraman (Department. of GRS, Faculty of Arts, DU) and Vivek Mohan (Department of History, Delhi College of Arts and Commerce). The Congress backed Academics for Action and Development has announced Sanjay Kumar from Zakir Husain College for the position of President. The National Democratic Teachers’ Front, which is led by BJP, has nominated V S Negi (Department of Geography, Shaheed Bhagat Singh College- Evening) for the position of President. For DUTA Executive, Anil Sharma (Department of Hindi, Zakir Hussain PG College – Evening), Ashok Kumar Yadav (Department of Commerce, Shyam Lal College- Evening), Shambhu Nath Dubey ( Department of Political Science, ARSD College) and Sunil Kumar (Department of Political Science, Dyal Singh College) have been nominated.

In another development, the varsity declared that the Delhi University Students Union (DUSU) elections will be held on September 11.The elections will decide the office bearers in the union and the central council and will be closely watched by major national political parties. The last date to file nomination is September 2 and the date for withdrawal is September 4. This year will also witness the debut of the Aam Aadmi Party’s Chhatra Yuva Sangharsh Samiti (CYSS).

The varsity on July 28 also announced the names of officials responsible for the fair conduct of DUSU elections. “The Vice Chancellor has appointed DS Rawat of Department of Chemistry as the Chief Election Officer, Satish Kumar, OSD (Examinations) as Chief Returning Officer and Anju Gupta, Director of Non-Collegiate Women’s Education Board as the Returning Officer for the conduct of 2015-16 elections,” said an official statement.

Sidharth Yadav