DU teachers reach out to Javadekar to resolve 'crisis'

Union hopes minister will act on pay and promotion

 The Delhi University Teachers’ Association (DUTA) has written to newly appointed Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister Prakash Javadekar, raising a host of issues from shortage of faculties to their long-pending promotions.

In a letter to the Union Minister, it sought to draw Javadekar’s attention to the reasons leading to “severe dilution” in the quality of education in universities and sought an appointment from him to “explain the issues”.

“We are extremely hopeful that your faith in the process of dialogue and discussions will help end the crisis in the university,” the DUTA president Nandita Narain said in her letter to Javadekar.

She also welcomed the Union Minister on assuming the responsibility of the HRD Ministry, saying, “We appreciate the solidarity you have always extended to our struggles in the past to defend and save public-funded education from destruction.”

The DUTA, dominated by the leftist faculties of the Delhi University, has taken a lead to reach out to the new HRD Minister within three days after Smriti Irani was shifted to the Textile Ministry in a cabinet expansion and reshuffle.

Delhi University teachers have been agitating for more than a month against revision of their pay increment and promotion rules by the university grants commission (UGC). Though the members of DUTA joined the ongoing admission process in the university, they continue to boycott evaluation for first and second year students in protest.

In her letter, Narain underlined that the country’s higher education was into a “deep crisis” due to consistent cut in budget and attempts to “downgrade and downsize” public funded institutions.

Deliberating on the issue of universities facing acute shortage of teachers, she said over 4500 posts of faculties in the Delhi University alone was vacant and requirement was being met by teachers working on ad-hoc or guest basis even as the number of students had gone up with reservation of seats for other backward classes (OBC) students since 2007.

She also complained that university faculties have not been promoted across the country since 2008.

“Denial of promotions to lakhs of teachers across the country since 2008 has already resulted in downgrading research and teaching in the universities, pushing the effective pay structure of university and college teachers way below that of all India government services, who have time bound promotions,” she added.