Adhocracy rules in DU

The new four-year format has sent teachers on contract into a tizzy as uncertainty looms over the distribution of workload.

Delhi University has announced it will begin the process of recruiting teachers by June-end, raising hopes among the 4,000 ad hoc teachers that this could get them a permanent post. Recruitment for permanent posts at DU has been virtually frozen since 2010.

But ad hoc teachers also fear the implications of the switchover soon to the four-year undergraduation programme (FYUP).

Uneven distribution of workload in several semesters due to the interdisciplinary nature of the new graduation structure may put them in a spot, they say.

“This year, the second and third year will be in the semester mode and the first year in the new graduation structure, so there is no clarity. I think it will be chaotic,” says an ad hoc teacher at a North Campus college.

Many teachers say confusion persists on whether the workload will increase or decrease when FYUP is implemented in the coming session.

“Workload varies from each department and college. I have heard that it is increasing, and the vice chancellor has also assured that the new programme will have no contractualisation,” says a teacher. This should mean more permanent jobs.

Ad hoc teachers want the University Grants Commission to intervene, citing UGC officials’ lament that there are too few PhD students and little research. Ad hoc teachers say this scenario will be set right only if there is stability for people who want to join DU.

In his open letter recently, vice chancellor Dinesh Singh assured that the recruitment process would start soon, saying that the extra year in FYUP will also increase the workload.
“Rest assured, there shall not be any contractual appointments at all. I do not know who started this rumour. From the reports being submitted to the university, it seems clear that in every college there is likely to be a significant increase in teaching workload,” says the letter.

“The university shall, wherever required, sanction additional new positions in addition to the already sanctioned (regular plus ad hoc) positions,” it says.

Due to inconsistencies in workload and the rule of re-interviewing ad hoc teachers for reappointment ahead of every semester, they  face uncertainty over their June and July salaries.

“July will be a tough time. Most of the interviews take place then. Since colleges are not clear about student strength due to exit points (the new system allows students to quit before four years), vacancies may get deferred. Also, ad hoc teachers will not get their June and July salaries unless they get appointed on the first day of the new semester,” says an ad hoc teacher.

Several ad hoc teachers blame the present Delhi University Teachers’ Association (DUTA) leadership for not taking up the issue of benefits for them, which they feel they deserve because of their teaching experience and academic qualifications.

“Ad hoc teachers used to get increment at entry level of PhD, which stopped a few years back. Why isn’t DUTA raising this issue?” says another teacher.

DU's explanation for stopping fresh recruitment in recent years is that the varsity was going through changes – first due to implementation of the semester system in 2010, and now the FYUP.

A senior DU officer says ad hoc recruitment is no `big deal’.

“There have always been ad hoc teachers in the university. A committee has been set up by the UGC to look into the various levels of teachers’ appointments. I think we will get the report in a few days, and recruitment will start by June-end.”

DU officials says it is impossible to do away with the system of hiring ad hoc teachers. Permanent teachers go on sabbatical and maternity leave, creating short-term vacancies. “Many VCs of other universities are products of DU. They go and take many teachers with them to set up departments,” adds the officer.

Teachers fear that the new degree course will lead to closure of small departments, particularly regional language departments, and layoffs could follow.

“The assumption of workload increase is after calculating total strength of teachers in a college, but what happens to an individual department's load,” asks Naveen Gaur, who teaches Physics at Dyal Singh College (Morning).

He says Discipline 2 (minor) course will only start by third semester. “Departments that used to be part of the Programme courses have to cater mostly to DC-2,” he adds.

In the three-year degree system, DU had Programme and Honours courses. In the four-year degree, students who finish all four years will be given awarded Honours degrees.
Some teachers claim that although there is an increase of a year to the course, the staff strength is sanctioned only under the three-year structure.

“Not a single additional hand will be sanctioned if the workload increases under FYUP. The new appointments will be based on vacancies already existing within the three-year scheme,” says Sanam Khanna, who teaches English at Kamla Nehru College.

A DU officer says the teaching workload will be distributed on the basis of the workload calculation sent in by the colleges.

“The university has written to all colleges to work out their teaching requirements as per the new UG programme and to start the process of filling up teaching positions,” says the VC’s letter.

“We expect to start the process of regular appointments of permanent faculty through selection committees by June 2013. Thus, the university shall endeavour to convert ad hoc positions into regular positions through the selection committees by the end of June 2013,” it says.

Replying to a question in Parliament on DU recruitment on April 26, Union minister of state for human resource development Shashi Tharoor tried to clear the air.

“DU has informed us that 358 posts of assistant professors were advertised in January 2012. As regards to filing up positions of associate professors and professors, UGC has constituted a committee to revisit the UGC regulations (minimum qualifications for appointment of teachers and other academic staff in universities and colleges and measures for the maintenance of standards in higher education), 2010 and the university will undertake recruitment in full measure on receiving the decision of UGC on regulations on minimum qualifications,” he said.

According to Rajesh Jha, Political Science teacher and member of Academics for Action and Development (AAD), a group that held the last DUTA leadership, there wass mass recruitment in 2006 and 2009.

“In June 2010, we were notified about the service condition which had a point system – like points to be given to teachers on the basis of articles published, awards received (national and international) – for appointments and promotions. DUTA rejected these service conditions. The then HRD minister set a up a review committee as the point system issue was raised at the national level. The committee rejected the point system,” he says.

In the meantime, many other universities, including Jawaharlal Nehru University and Jamia, accepted the point system, he adds.

Discussions are on at the UGC level on whether to reject or continue with the point system.
Ad hoc teachers at DU say this is an uncertain period for them as the semester is ending. There is a fund crunch and many teachers’ salaries are being delayed.

“The University is irregular in sending funds to colleges for vacancies which came after the Other Backward Classes (OBC) expansion in 2007. In Rajdhani College, ad hoc teachers were not paid salary for three months and were finally paid one day of executive council elections on January 31. A recent case is of Deshbandhu College, where ad hocs were given their salaries on April 31 after not paying them for three months,” says Rudrashish Chakraborty, a Kirori Mal College teacher.

Funds for salaries come from the UGC to the varsity, which disburses them to each college.
Teachers say that at Shri Ram College of Commerce, the university did not release salaries of 10 teachers. In Satyawati College, salaries for November, December and January were given in February this year.

“The university, flushed with funds, intends to buy a full train and laptops for over 50,000 freshers. But when it comes to releasing salaries of teachers, it becomes callous and insensitive,” adds Chakraborty. There are several colleges that have also diverted salaries of their retired employees to pay for ad hoc teachers.

The need to accommodate more students at DU after the OBC quota decision too had its impact.

“Some colleges had to admit teachers beyond the limit sanctioned under the OBC expansion in order to meet requirements of workload. The university and the UGC are not giving colleges any fund for these teachers,” says Miranda House teacher Abha Dev Habib.

“Colleges have tried to manage salaries by diverting funds. These colleges are forced to terminate teachers before the summer vacations,” she says.