Delhi University teachers may boycott admissions

Delhi University Teachers’ Association members protest against the UGC notification to increase their workload in New Delhi on Monday. (Photo:Bunny Smith)

Delhi University teachers, who have been agitating for over two weeks against the new UGC criteria to ascertain their academic performance, on Monday threatened to boycott the ongoing admission process if their demands are not considered by the HRD ministry.

Alleging that the consultations with UGC officials did not yield any results, the Delhi University teachers Association (Duta) has called for a general body meeting on Tuesday to decided the future course of action.

JNU students union president Kanhaiya Kumar also joined the agitation outside the UGC office while the consultations with representatives of teachers’ associations from across the country were underway.

DU teachers have been boycotting the evaluation of undergraduate exams for last eleven days against amendments to UGC regulations that, they argue, will lead to job-cuts to the tune of 50 per cent and drastically increase pupil-teacher ratio in higher education.

“Though the consultations went on for more than 5 hours, it is extremely unfortunate that the UGC chairperson was not willing to concede anything more than what the MHRD had already stated that tutorials and practical would be part of the direct teaching hours. The UGC chairperson was also unwilling to give any assurance on the API, requesting for time to give a reply,” a Duta statement said.

“We will decide the future course of action in tomorrow’s GBM. Given the current scenario of inaction and non-committal responses from the government, the teachers’ anger is surging and the Duta may be forced to consider drastic measures like the boycott of the admissions process,” it added.

The new gazette notification has increased the workload for assistant professors from 16 hours of “direct teaching” per week (including tutorials) to 18 hours, plus another six of tutorials.