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Reserved category seats gather dust

There is a need to start the hiring process for SC, ST posts to make way for OBC appointments
Last Updated 04 May 2013, 22:12 IST

Amajority of teaching seats lying vacant in Delhi University are from the reserved category, according to Kedar Kumar Mandal, teacher and member of Academic Forum for Social Justice, an organisation working for reserved category students and teachers.

“Although the OBC expansion took place and teaching posts were increased, there is a huge backlog of Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes filling of posts, which decreases the number of OBC teaching posts,” he says.

The constitutional rule is that not more than 49 per cent of reserved category seats can be filled at a time.

“SC/ST reservation is 25 per cent, and the backlog is also added in it. The reserved category and the backlog posts should be filled separately. The VC keeps announcing about starting recruitments. He should come out with a gazetted notification,” adds Mandal.

“According to the executive council resolution, colleges should come out with 200-point roster regarding various levels of posts available. But colleges are coming out with varied rosters, and some are not putting up the roster,” he adds.

Mandal says a freeze on appointments because of fluctuations in workload also delayed recruitment.

“Out of 4,000 teaching posts, at least a few thousands will be stable. Why isn’t the university starting the appointment process then?” he says.

Guest lecturers

According to teachers, DU has over 500 guest lectures. A trend that was prevalent a few years ago is now slowly diminishing. But in many colleges, guest lecturers are taking not just a few classes, but taking over the role of ad hoc teachers, they complain.

“They are required in a few subjects like Journalism, but appointing them for all classes is unethical,” says a teacher.

“In place of one ad hoc teacher, three guest lecturers are hired as per rules. As many teacher groups are raising the issue of ad hoc teachers, hiring guest lecturers is a way out for the administration,” says the teacher.

Guest lecturers’ teaching experience is not taken into consideration during appointment interviews. “I remember at one time a majority of teachers in Bhagat Singh College were guest lecturers. This is a way to maintain insecurity and keep dependency on the administration high without taking flak for rising ad hoc appointments,” adds the teacher.

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(Published 04 May 2013, 22:12 IST)

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