Duta protest may delay Delhi University exam results

Delhi University annual examination results are likely to be delayed by a week as the Delhi University Teachers’ Association continues to boycott evaluation of answersheets.

The Duta had initially announced a four-day boycott as a protest against the University Grants Commission gazette notification that altered workload requirements for college teachers.

The 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, bringing the total up to 24 hours. Similarly, the work hours of associate professors have been increased from 14 to 22.

The teachers have warned if the Centre does not roll back the amendment to the UGC 2010 Regulations they may even boycott the admission process. The changes, they claimed, are likely to impact the quality of teaching, global rankings, would lead to massive retrenchment and give a skewed student-teacher ratio.

The DU teachers have now declared that they to continue the boycott till next week although Thursday was the third day of the protest. The teachers’ organisation has decided to take out a march from the university to the Union human resources development ministry on Monday.

“We had an executive meeting on Friday during which a proposal for the general body meeting on Saturday was tabled to extend the boycott of the evaluation process till next week. Whatever notification has been ruled out for us is an attack on the nature of democratic higher education and it ties up the teachers in a strict timetable. We want the government to respond to our demand otherwise it will clearly have an affect on both the results and the admission process,” said Rajesh Kumar Jha, a Duta member.

“Now we are just looking forward to the GBM where a final decision would be taken, but we will be taking out a march on Monday to the Union human resources development ministry as a protest to resolve the core concerns of Duta over workload and promotions,” he added. The teachers’ organisation will conduct its meeting at Sri Ram College of Commerce.

The DU results are likely to get delayed by a week in July, admitted DU committee member Nachiketa Singh, adding: “Such protests by the university-level organisations are a way to put pressure on the government and I think the government should respond.