<p>Most Delhi University teachers have decided not to sign their attendance on Thursday, flaunting a directive from the Registrar's Office and setting the stage for a more serious confrontation than planned with varsity authorities.<br /><br />Delhi University Teachers' Association (DUTA) blames the DU Registrar's Office for the esclation. According to DUTA, the original protest was to be a sit-in by teachers outside Vice Chancellor's Office after classes on Thursday.<br /><br />But the situation changed after Tuesday's notice from the Registrar's office to heads of departments, warning that if teachers were absent at the time when the dharna was on, they will be treated as being on leave without pay.<br /><br />The Registrar's office expects college principals to forward a record of attendance to University authorities, containing signatures of teachers who attended classes on Thursday,<br />“From the first day we are saying there will be no suspension of classes.We have sent notices to teachers in all colleges clearly mentioning that the teachers should join the protest after finishing their classes. For evening colleges, since they start around 2 pm, we have asked teachers to join us in the morning and leave before their class starts. Under the constitution of this country, every citizen has a right to protest,” said Amar Deo Sharma, president of DUTA.<br /><br />The professors on permanent posts do not have a rule or a tradition of signing attendance registers. <br /><br />“I will take my classes and then go for the protest. But I refuse to mark my attendance for just a day. There is no validity for it and I have never marked my attendance,” said a professor of Physics from Dyal Singh college on the idea of marking his attendance just for the one day.<br /><br />“I know some teachers who were not going for the protest, like me. But now we will go. We will finish our classes and sit on the protest, said a professor of political science from Hindu College. A tradition which is been going on for so many years of not keeping any attendance records can be changed for a day and for what? A peaceful protest? This is demeaning. What I do after I finish my classes is my business,” he added.<br /><br />Violation of court order <br /><br />Tuesday’s notice from the Registrar also said a protest by the teachers was a violation of Delhi HC standing orders.<br /><br />“Any action on the part of the teachers in compliance with DUTA’s call shall be deemed by the University to be a transgression of the court's order,” it said. Sharma, however, disputed this interpretation of the order which he said banned protests only over semester system.<br /><br />“This is a total lie that if we protest then we are violating the court’s order. The order is on the DU website. Anybody can figure out what the order is all about,” said Sharma.<br /><br />The teachers are demanding an inquiry against principals of Dyal Singh College and Ram Lal Anand College over allegations of corruption and harassment of women teachers.<br /><br />Immediate filling of vacancies, quicker promotions and immediate payment of pension to retired teachers are also in demand.<br /><br />The protest is slated between 11 am to 4 pm on Thursday.<br /></p>
<p>Most Delhi University teachers have decided not to sign their attendance on Thursday, flaunting a directive from the Registrar's Office and setting the stage for a more serious confrontation than planned with varsity authorities.<br /><br />Delhi University Teachers' Association (DUTA) blames the DU Registrar's Office for the esclation. According to DUTA, the original protest was to be a sit-in by teachers outside Vice Chancellor's Office after classes on Thursday.<br /><br />But the situation changed after Tuesday's notice from the Registrar's office to heads of departments, warning that if teachers were absent at the time when the dharna was on, they will be treated as being on leave without pay.<br /><br />The Registrar's office expects college principals to forward a record of attendance to University authorities, containing signatures of teachers who attended classes on Thursday,<br />“From the first day we are saying there will be no suspension of classes.We have sent notices to teachers in all colleges clearly mentioning that the teachers should join the protest after finishing their classes. For evening colleges, since they start around 2 pm, we have asked teachers to join us in the morning and leave before their class starts. Under the constitution of this country, every citizen has a right to protest,” said Amar Deo Sharma, president of DUTA.<br /><br />The professors on permanent posts do not have a rule or a tradition of signing attendance registers. <br /><br />“I will take my classes and then go for the protest. But I refuse to mark my attendance for just a day. There is no validity for it and I have never marked my attendance,” said a professor of Physics from Dyal Singh college on the idea of marking his attendance just for the one day.<br /><br />“I know some teachers who were not going for the protest, like me. But now we will go. We will finish our classes and sit on the protest, said a professor of political science from Hindu College. A tradition which is been going on for so many years of not keeping any attendance records can be changed for a day and for what? A peaceful protest? This is demeaning. What I do after I finish my classes is my business,” he added.<br /><br />Violation of court order <br /><br />Tuesday’s notice from the Registrar also said a protest by the teachers was a violation of Delhi HC standing orders.<br /><br />“Any action on the part of the teachers in compliance with DUTA’s call shall be deemed by the University to be a transgression of the court's order,” it said. Sharma, however, disputed this interpretation of the order which he said banned protests only over semester system.<br /><br />“This is a total lie that if we protest then we are violating the court’s order. The order is on the DU website. Anybody can figure out what the order is all about,” said Sharma.<br /><br />The teachers are demanding an inquiry against principals of Dyal Singh College and Ram Lal Anand College over allegations of corruption and harassment of women teachers.<br /><br />Immediate filling of vacancies, quicker promotions and immediate payment of pension to retired teachers are also in demand.<br /><br />The protest is slated between 11 am to 4 pm on Thursday.<br /></p>
