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UGC to Visit St. Stephen’s College Amidst Dissent Against Autonomy

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A team from the University Grants Commission is set to visit St. Stephen’s College on 10th and 11th May 2018, after the Governing Body (GB) of the college had in-principle agreed to apply for autonomy.

The most recent development in the fight against commercialisation of public education through privatisation, the University Grants Commission (UGC) is going to be visiting the campus of St. Stephen’s College for an inspection on 10th-11th May 2018. This visit is a consequence of the Governing Body of the college agreeing in-principle to apply for autonomy.

The issue of autonomy has been much talked about in the University of Delhi this year, with several protests being organised and students as well as teachers’ speaking out against this pressing issue.

Nandita Narain, a senior professor from the maths department of St. Stephen’s College, told DU Beat “44 out of 56 permanent teachers of the college have written to the UGC in opposition to this move in which we have outlined our objection against the way this decision was taken, in an emergency meeting of the GB last year, without any kind of consultation from the teachers, karamcharis, and students, who are the primary stakeholders.”

Adding to the objections raised by the teachers, she further said, “There is no clarity surrounding the implications of this move as no clear picture has been laid out regarding the financial structure of the college, the regulation of fees, and the service conditions of the teachers. The fate of the Ad-hoc teachers’ is also shaky.” She pointed out that there is nothing to gain from this move, as the college is not equipped to take on the massive administrative and academic burdens that will come with autonomy. Questioning the functioning of the administration, she also told the DU Beat correspondent that the present management functions in an arbitrary and non-transparent manner.

Delhi University Teachers’ Association (DUTA) and All India Students’ Association (AISA) are conducting protests outside St. Stephen’s College tomorrow at 10 a.m., when the UGC visit is scheduled. AISA has also started a signature campaign to oppose this move. In a phone conversation with DU Beat, Kawalpreet Kaur, Head of AISA’s Delhi University Unit said, “We have been conducting a signature campaign since the examinations started, by putting up a desk at the Vishwavidyalaya Metro Station in the evening. Tomorrow, we will also be protesting along with DUTA when the UGC visit is scheduled, to convey that we are against the arbitrary manner in which the decisions are being taken by the administration, when the students and teachers are totally in opposition to this move. Through the signature campaign, we have aimed to start a long-term agitation against this move towards autonomy, and we will also be actively protesting any fee hikes that will happen in the coming semesters in any colleges of DU.”

 

Feature Image Credits: St. Stephen’s College

Bhavya Banerjee

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Campus Central

DUTA Calls for Boycott of Evaluation of Examination Papers

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The Delhi University Teachers’ Association (DUTA) has called for a boycott of evaluation of examination papers scheduled to begin from Wednesday. This call was supported by teachers across the University of Delhi (DU) as teachers did not report at evaluation centres.
According to a press circular that was sent to DU Beat by the President of DUTA Rajib Ray, teachers have been forced to take this extreme step because of the immediate crisis resulting from the speed and aggression with which the University Grants Commission (UGC) and Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) are moving towards the grant of financial autonomy to several colleges of DU.

The announcement was made ahead of the visit of the University Grants Commission (UGC) officials’ to St. Stephen’s College after its Governing Body (GB) had, in principle, agreed to apply for autonomy. Notably, a UGC team is expected to visit the college on 10th-11th May 2018 for inspection.
The press circular of DUTA, dated 9th May 2018, informed that the teachers’ body shall hold a protest outside St. Stephen’s College on 10th May 2018, 10 a.m. onwards against the visit of the UGC team.

In a phone call conversation, the DU Beat correspondent had asked President Rajib Ray on why such a drastic step is being taken, Ray clarified, “We are planning on such a course of action not only for our struggle against autonomy. There are a lot of reasons.”

He explained that these insidious attempts are part of the larger agenda to privatise and commercialise public-funded education in the country. This will push education out of the reach of a vast majority of students who come from underprivileged sections. The dismembering of DU will also have negative consequences for the working conditions of teachers and “karamcharis”. Colleges of repute who enjoy this status from being a part of DU will become nothing more than teaching shops, according to DUTA.
Ray further explained that the apathy of the University administration towards issues of promotions including counting of past service, appointments, and pension issues is causing unrest among the teachers of the varsity. The teachers’ body now demands that promotion matters be expedited and routine matters dealt with expeditiously, so that the day-to-day academic life of teachers is not affected.

DUTA executive Surendra Kumar told DU Beat, “Crisis we are facing is very high, nature of response is very slow. Whatever decision the DUTA as a body takes, we stand with it.”
Further speaking along similar lines, he told the correspondent, “We need to expand our horizons and, bring the common man of the nation into this struggle against privatisation.”
“As far as my sources are concerned, three colleges, Shri Ram College of Commerce, Hindu College and St. Stephen’s College are on the pipeline of getting autonomy. If the best colleges of the country are going towards this fate, how can the common man afford higher education anymore?” questioned Kumar.

In the aftermath of the University Grants Commission inviting Principals of as many as 30 DU colleges for a workshop to clear their doubts about the move towards greater autonomy, a member of the DU’s Executive Council, Rajesh Jha had spoken on the dangers of privatisation of higher education. Jha had said, “The move ultimately will commercialise the education at a university which is being run on taxpayers’ money to provide equal opportunities to all students.”
Significantly, Principals from a remarkable number of colleges affiliated to DU, including Hindu College, Shri Ram College of Commerce, Daulat Ram College, and Kamala Nehru College amongst others had taken part in the aforementioned workshop.

While the move towards autonomy is expected to give freedom to colleges to design and structure their courses in keeping with the changing methods of teaching, the move is being challenged by various quarters of the students’ and teachers’ community who are under the apprehension that this will eventually place the marginalised sections at a disadvantageous position.

Feature Image Credits: DNA India
Vaibhavi Sharma Pathak
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St. Stephen’s Teachers write to UGC against Autonomy

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42 teachers from St. Stephen’s wrote to UGC and the HRD Ministry to speak out against the idea of autonomy that has been actively rejected by students and teachers alike.
The issue of autonomy has been creating contention in the University of Delhi (DU) for a while now. Teachers and students are largely of the belief that autonomy will lead to a hike in fee and will go against the socialistic structure of the Varsity. Recently Hindu College wrote to the Union Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry demanding to know if seeking autonomy will affect the kind of aid it receives from the Center. Last year over 20 colleges from the University has been invited to attend an orientation programme. The bid to seek autonomy has been led by St. Stephens in the University, with it being one of the first institutions that were rumoured to be attempting to seek autonomy.
Earlier today, 42 permanent faculty members from St. Stephens College wrote to the HRD Ministry actively protesting against the issue of autonomy. On 25th February 2017, Principal John Varghese had claimed that the college will apply for autonomy only when the consultation of the staff council.
According to the UGC Guidelines for Autonomous Colleges-2017, a college gaining autonomy will have the liberty to decide and apply its own courses; modify and redesign the syllabi to suit specific needs, and make it more hands-on to meet the criterion of certain job requirements. This is specifically the reason why DUTA and a large number of students from the varsity have actively protested against autonomy because it comes with the fear of privatisation and seems capitalistic in spirit to many.
A second-year student from St Stephens who chose to stay anonymous said “Autonomy will lead to a lot of problems including fee hike, quality of education deteriorates, additional pressure on teachers because Ad-Hocs will be removed since funding from UGC will be cut. This was a great step taken by our teachers since it allowed reflected the values of the student. Most of us actively challenged the administration when they sought autonomy; however, they paid no heed to us. “

DU Beat has reached out to certain faculty members from St. Stephens College and will update the story once they respond.

Feature Image Credits – Hindustan Times
Kinjal Pandey

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UGC Invites Colleges for Orientation Programme on Autonomy

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Many colleges from the University of Delhi have expressed their desire to become autonomous. Recently, the University Grants Commission (UGC) has invited colleges to discuss this matter under the UGC Scheme for Autonomy.

The University Grants Commission has invited colleges from across the country for an orientation programme on Thursday to discuss the matter of autonomy. Highlighting the importance of autonomous colleges, the UGC document on the profile of higher education in India reiterates, “the only safe and better way to improve the quality of undergraduate education is to the delink most of the colleges from the affiliating structure. Colleges with academic and operative freedom are doing better and have more credibility.”

The affiliating system of colleges was originally curated when the number of colleges affiliated under a university was small. The university could then effectively oversee the working of the colleges, act as an examining body and award degrees on their behalf. The system has now become cumbersome and it is becoming increasingly difficult for a university to attend to the varied needs of individual colleges.
The colleges affiliated under a university do not have the freedom to modernize their curriculum as they have to comply with the university norms. A few prestigious institutions under the University of Delhi, namely, St. Stephen’s College, Hindu College, Ramjas College, Sri Ram College of Commerce and colleges run by the Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Management Committee, have articulated the aspiration of achieving a deemed university status for the same reason.
The orientation programme is expected to give an idea about the interest level among the other colleges seeking an autonomous status. The UGC had initiated this scheme at the beginning of the year. In his letter to the colleges P K Thakur, secretary, UGC, wrote that the commission has been implementing the scheme of autonomous colleges in order to facilitate the colleges to achieve further qualitative improvement leading towards academic excellence.
If the colleges under Delhi University attain autonomy, they would have the freedom to formulate their own rules and regulations and design their fee structures which will no longer adhere to the guidelines set by Delhi University. Many students and faculty members have protested and are against these colleges attaining autonomy.

In 1981, St Stephen’s College was offered autonomy by the Ministry of Human Resource Development. However, DUTA?had opposed the move. In 2013, a similar offer was made to Lady Shri Ram College for Women (LSR) which yielded a similar reaction. This year, students of St Stephen’s College protested against the discussion of autonomy by the governing body of their college.

 

Feature Image Credits: The Indian Express

Bhavya Banerjee
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UGC Decision May Curb SC, ST, OBC Faculty Posts Across All Universities

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Instead of calculating the number of reserved seats based on the total number of faculty members at a university, the UGC wants the calculation to be department-wise.

While hearing a case on teachers’ recruitment in Banaras Hindu University in April this year, the Allahabad High Court held that reservation in teaching posts has to be applied department-wise by treating the department as a “unit” and not the university.

In response to the above verdict, the University Grants Commission (UGC) last month decided to implement a new formula for reservation in teaching posts in the university. Now, if Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD) decides to accept the decision, it could result in lesser positions for SC, ST and OBC faculty on university campuses, according to PS Krishnan, former secretary to the central government and an expert on the subject.

The Court condemned UGC for applying reservation in a “blanket manner” and advised the regulator to revisit its implementation. According to a report by the Indian Express, “If the University is taken as a ‘Unit’ for every level of teaching and applying the roster, it could result in some departments/subjects having all reserved candidates and some having only unreserved candidates. Such a proposition again would be discriminatory and unreasonable. This again would be violative of Article 14 and 16 of the Constitution,” the Allahabad High Court had observed in its verdict that cancelled the BHU recruitment and asked it to start afresh.

As per official data, there are 17,106 teaching positions at 41 UGC-funded central universities, of which roughly 35 percent seats are vacant, as of April 1, 2017. Any change in the implementation of reservation will affect all new recruitment drives taken up by universities in future. The number of SC, ST, OBC faculty positions currently are calculated by treating the university as a “unit”. This practice grouped or clubbed together all the reserved quota for all posts of the same grade, say, professor, across different departments in a university. If the new UGC formula is accepted by the HRD ministry, the reservation would be applied by treating each department in a university as a “unit”. This means the number of reserved posts at the same level will be determined separately for each department; calculated based on the total posts in each department.

Krishnan, who has worked in the field of social justice for SCs, STs, and OBCs for more than six-and-a-half decades, told the Indian Express, “Take professors, for instance. There are fewer professors in a department compared to assistant professors. If a department has only one professor, there can be no reserved posts there as reservation cannot be applied in case of a single post. But if all posts of professors across different departments are clubbed together, then naturally there is a better chance of positions being set aside for SC, ST, and OBC,”

He further added,” If our goal is to strengthen India by giving opportunities to persons belonging to the submerged populations, who have become qualified, then we should interpret rules or make rules to enable them to come in due numbers. If our aim is to weaken India then we can interpret rules in a manner, which defeats the goal of reservation.”

The UGC’s Standing Committee examined 10 court judgments on the subject and recommended that the Allahabad High Court’s verdict should be applied to all universities. The UGC is learned to have shared this decision with the HRD Ministry and is waiting for its “concurrence”.

Feature Image Credits: Digital Learning

 

Oorja Tapan

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Cabinet Clears Pay Panel Recommendations For 8 Lakh Colleges And University Teachers

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Ahead of Diwali, there is some good news for the nearly 8,00,000 teachers and staff working in colleges, universities, and institutions run by the central and state governments.This decision will benefit 7.58 lakh teachers and equivalent academic staff in 106 universities and colleges funded by the UGC and central government, and 329 universities funded by state governments, besides 12,912 government and private-aided colleges affiliated to state universities.

“In addition, the revised pay package will cover teachers of 119 central-funded technical institutions such as IITs, IISc, IIMs, IISERs, IIITs, NITIE”- as stated by the Union HRD minister Prakash Javadekar after the Cabinet meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

For the higher education institutions funded by state governments, the revised pay scales will have to be adopted by their respective state governments. The additional financial burden incurred by the state governments in implementing the recommendations of 7th Pay Commission for teachers will be borne by the central government. The approved pay scales will be applicable with effect from January 1, 2016. The annual Central financial liability on account of this measure would be about Rs 9,800 crore, the government said in a statement. The implementation of this revision will enhance teachers’ pay in the range of Rs.10,400 and Rs. 49,800. “This revision will register an entry pay growth in the range of 22 percent to 28 percent,” Javadekar said.

For state government-funded institutions, the revised pay scales will require adoption by respective states. The government had last year constituted a pay review committee, headed by UGC member VS Chauhan, which had submitted its recommendations earlier this year. Following this, the HRD ministry formed a committee to review the recommendations.

Feature Image Credits: India

 

Sandeep Samal

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UGC renews guidelines: St. Stephen’s College to re-apply for autonomy

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The University Grants Commission has renewed their guidelines for autonomy which requires colleges applying for autonomy to reapply. Following this, St. Stephen’s College says that it will reapply for autonomy in the new format. This step taken by the college has been confirmed by the governing body.

Autonomy implies that the college will no longer be affiliated to the University of Delhi and will be free academically as well as monetarily. The college in its 2050 vision states : “By 2025 and certainly by 2050, St. Stephen’s should be an autonomous degree giving University with undergraduate, post-graduate, diploma and doctoral studies, starting maybe as a “deemed to be” university.

The advance of St. Stephen’s towards academic and monetary freedom was brought up in March, 2017. The decision of the administration was protested cumulatively by the students and the faculty members, on grounds that the issue was not consulted with the primary stakeholders before being concluded. The members asked for a transparent procedure and proper consultation with the stakeholders and adjudged that the current procedures contradicted the UGC directive that says,“There are several areas where proper preparation is necessary if college autonomy is to be implemented successfully. These are: faculty preparation, departmental preparation, institutional preparation, and preparation of students and the local community. Such multi-pronged preparation should be completed well before autonomy is sought and conferred upon a college so that no part of the college community is found unprepared for the new responsibility which it is called upon to shoulder.”

The University Grants Commision and the Human Resources Development, have further decided to hold meetings throughout the expanse of the country to dissipate the general misconceptions regarding the issue of autonomy by elucidating the scheme and the monetary concerns.

A senior UGC official spoke to Hindustan Times saying, “A number of colleges fear that autonomy will come with a cut in finances, which is clearly not the case. We want good institutes to opt for autonomy. Colleges with academic and operative freedom, do better than others and possess more credibility.”

 

Feature Image: DU Beat Archive

Trishala Dutta

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University Teachers Bodies Court Arrest on the Teachers’ Day

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The All India Federation of University & College Teachers’ Organisations (AIFUCTO) and Federation of Central Universities’ Teachers’ Associations (FEDCUTA) held a protest and courted arrest at Jantar Mantar, Delhi, on 5th September against the nondisclosure of the Chouhan Committee Report for 7th Pay Review Committee (PRC) and raised other demands regarding public higher education institutions in the country.
As per the Delhi University Teachers Association (DUTA)’s press release of the protest, “Pay Review Committee Report was submitted to MHRD more than six months ago. The PRC, that deals not only with pay revision but with all aspects of teachers’ service conditions, including permanent recruitment, promotions and pension, is expected to have made positive recommendations to address the grievances of teachers regarding contractualisation and adhocism of services.” AIFUCTO also sent a letter to the Prime Minister to intervene and implement the PRC recommendations, saying “We have repeatedly written to MHRD and UGC to share the content of the 7th Pay Review Committee Recommendations, a practice that has been followed by all previous governments because AIFUCTO is the apex organization representing the university and college teachers in the country”. Despite meeting with Human Resources Development Minister Mr Prakash Javadekar in May this year and being assured of the report’s release in a month, there are no signs of action regarding the same. Along with the PRC report declaration, the protesting teachers also raised demands of increasing the education allocation to 10% of the GDP, 100% funding of Government State and Central Universities and resisting the privatisation of Universities via granting autonomous status.
Rajya Sabha MP, D. Raja(CPI) also led a delegation of AIFUCTO and FEDCUTA Office Bearers to meet the HRD Minister on the day of the protest. The delegation also included the newly elected President of DUTA and FEDCUTA, Dr Rajib Ray, who said that the Minister assured of the disclosure of the PRC recommendations soon, but could not explain the delay. Mr Ray also said that such a move has been unprecedented because the PRC recommendations are to be made public every time. He also stressed the importance of a written document rather than verbal assurances, and that equal assistance must be provided to Central and State Universities.

 

Image Credits: National Herald

Rishika Singh

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DUSU Elections 2017

National Green Tribunal issues notices to DU, DUSU and UGC over paper ban

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The National Green Tribunal is strongly set against the blatant use of paper in the DUSU elections in violation of its order abstaining the students’ body from using pamphlets and splattering the walls of the varsity campus with posters. A bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar issued contempt notices to Delhi University Students’ Union, Delhi University and University Grants Commission on the issue of wastage of paper during students’ union polls and sought responses. They were asked to appear on Wednesday. The tribunal in 2016 had asked the university and the student’s groups that participate in the elections to go paperless during the canvassing.
The directions came on a plea by Delhi University law student Nithin Chandran, who had approached NGT against indiscriminate wastage of paper during the students’ body elections. “On every election, tonnes of paper are wasted for canvassing by the candidates and their supporters. Wherein, there is no accountability for usage of paper and neither there is any norm or procedure for recycling of this waste paper,” the plea had said.
It had has also cited the Supreme Courts 2006 order directing universities to implement the recommendations of the JM Lyngdoh committee in their students’ union elections.

The NGT Act 2010 has provisions for a penalty under section 26 of the act in case of failure to comply with orders of the tribunal. Maximum punishment of three years imprisonment and Rs 10 crore as fine.

DUSU elections are scheduled to be held on 12th of September.

Image credits: DU Beat archives

Sandeep Samal

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UGC Asks Universities to Install Incinerators for Sanitary Napkins

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The University Grants Commission (UGC), a statutory body that provides recognition and funds to several institutes of higher education across India, including the University of Delhi, has recently issued a statement asking varsities to install sanitary napkin incinerators in all women’s hostels. The move aims to benefit both the environment and women’s hygiene.

A communication by the UGC stated, “In an effort to promote proper disposal of menstrual waste and promote the Swachh Bharat Mission, it is imperative that we take the initiative to promote menstrual sanitation and proper disposal of menstrual waste by creating awareness, encouraging every woman to use eco-friendly incinerators and promoting research for biodegradable alternatives.” The communication also added, “You are requested to consider the installation of these machines within the premises of women’s hostels.”

According to the UGC, the estimated cost of the equipment is INR 49,646, an amount that can be “directly booked under the solid waste management component of the Swachh Bharat Mission”. The statutory body also elaborated that HLL Lifecare Limited, which is a public sector undertaking under the Ministry of Health, has recently introduced vending machines and incinerators for sanitary napkins.

Proper disposal of menstrual waste is crucial for feminine hygiene as well as for the environment. Sanitary napkins are the go-to product for the majority of Indian women. The material that they are made of is non-biodegradable. This means that the disposal of pads in household trash leads to landfills overflowing with menstrual waste. Burning them is not a solution as it leads to the release of toxic fumes into the atmosphere. Additionally, sanitary napkins that are disposed incorrectly often end up blocking drainage systems. There is also the high risk of disease and unhygienic conditions near areas where menstrual waste is concentrated. Menstrual blood in open air attracts all sorts of bacteria to grow in it and affect the hygiene of the surroundings.

Incinerators are the best way to dispose of sanitary napkins. They provide a long-lasting and eco-friendly solution by restricting the amount of smoke produced in the incineration to the small machine. The communication by the UGC is, therefore, a welcome step in making sure women’s accommodation caters to their specific needs and provides proper hygiene along with fulfilling environmental responsibilities.

 

Feature Image Credits: India Education Review

 

Vineeta Rana
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