Autonomous colleges upset over order on lecturers' deputation

The Department of Collegiate Education’s (DCE) recent move to issue redeployment orders to lecturers of aided colleges has not gone down well with many auto­n­omous institutions in the City.

Principals of Bangalore-based Jyoti Nivas College, Mount Carmel College, St Joseph’s College of Arts and Science, St Joseph’s College of Commerce and St Aloysius College, Mangalore met the Minister of Higher Education R V Deshpande and Home Minister K J George on Friday sought some relaxation in the direction. Members of various lecturers’ associations were also part of the meeting.        

Four of these five colleges are on the verge of getting greater autonomy following a recent direction of the Ministry of Human Resources Department. The direction of the DCE will hamper their functioning, say authorities of these colleges.

“A number of these lecturers are members of the Board of Education and are involved in framing the syllabi. They carry out work that will make autonomy more effective. All this work will be now hampered,” said a college official.     
   
As many as 17 grant-in-aid lectures from St Joseph College of Arts and Science and nine each from Mount Carmel College and Jyothi Nivas College have been selected for deputation to other colleges.

Another reason for the opposition is that the directive has come right in the middle of the academic year. “We cannot relieve the teachers now as there is too much work. Exams are round the corner and students are bound to suffer,” said an official from a college.   

“All of these colleges have been recognised as potential centres of excellence and this has been conveyed to the ministers. They have assured us that our request will be considered and we are confident of a positive outcome,” said another senior authority who was part of the delegation.   

Last week, the DCE had issued orders to 240 lecturers of private aided colleges to be deputed to various government institutions where there was shortage of staff. Even though the official directive had been issued on October 5, very few lecturers have reported for work at the new place.