Teachers intensify stir, march against UGC regulations

Intensifying its agitation, the Delhi University Teachers’ Association led a protest march on Thursday from Firoz Shah Kotla Stadium to the University Grants Commission building against the UGC 3rd amendment regulation. All agitated teachers had brought books and their publications to symbolise alienation of teachers, flight of talent and destruction of education.

However, none of the protesters were allowed to lay down their books at the UGC gate and were made to march to the ITO crossing where they formed a human chain. The teachers left their books and publications at the centre of the crossing.

“The police refusal to give us permission for a peaceful protest has brought the authoritarianism of Union ministry of human resources and development out in open. This brazen non-communicative approach clearly shows that the MHRD has no respect for the intellectuals and the universities. It is not only trying to sabotage pubic universities, but aggressively follows the neoliberal agenda of privatisation of education. Common syllabi in the name of choice-based credit system, outsourcing the job of syllabus-making to foreign universities with the huge payment and the MHRD’s decision on Wednesday to send students for two semesters at undergraduate level and one semester at postgraduate level to foreign universities are steps to sell education to the foreign universities,” said Duta press secretary Rajesh Jha.

The Union HRD ministry on Wednesday allowed collaboration of foreign universities with A grade universities, which according to the teachers is given mostly to the private universities by the NAAC.