People's Democracy

WEEK-LONG STRIKE OF DU TEACHERS

Against Dismantling of Delhi University

Vijender Sharma

DELHI University teachers are preparing to make their week-long strike, coupled with actions during the strike, a grand success. The teams of the leaders and activists of Delhi University Teachers’ Association (DUTA) have visited almost all the colleges and faculties of Delhi University addressing the teachers’ meetings. The agenda is to prevent the dismantling of Delhi University and its colleges and the institutions of higher education in the country.

The General Body of DUTA which met on August 21in New Convocation Hall of the University, jam-packed with teachers, unprecedented in recent times, decided to fight back and give time to the UGC and the central government through an action oriented week-long strike from September 10 to 16 to accept long pending demands of the teachers and withdraw their decision on teaching workload declaring more than one-third teachers of Delhi University colleges as surplus.

Before the start of current academic session, DUTA Executive Committee on July 5, 2002 decided to mobilise the teachers for a limited period strike coupled with action programme on every day in different parts of the Capital for the realization of their long-pending demands: restoration of professorship in colleges and introduction of third promotion, all promotional and other benefits with effect from January 1, 1996, parity of librarians with teachers, etc. DUTA teams started visiting colleges and University departments right from July 16, the day the University reopened.

FREEZE

ON POSTS

While the DUTA was on the move, the UGC precipitated the matter by sending a letter to colleges dated July 19, directing colleges to make appointments of teachers only for 80 per cent of the vacant posts and that too temporarily for not more than three months.

Further, the UGC through its another letter of July 23, put a complete freeze on all recruitments, ban on creation of posts at all levels, 10 per cent cut in staff strength and abolition of all posts which remained vacant for more than one year. These recommendations were supposedly based on the Expenditure Reforms Committee’s (ERC) Fifth Report. These moves of the UGC caused a complete panic and led to the stalling and cancellation of selection committee meetings for appointments of teachers in many colleges resulting in disruption of teaching and other academic programmes.

However, the Ninth Report of Expenditure Reforms Commission (ERC) admitted that "higher education and technical education are also important" because educated and skilled manpower for national system becomes available from the products of higher education and technical education. Therefore, it states, for efficiency and productivity in the national system, the higher and technical education sectors need to be strengthened and continuously expanded in the coming years. This recommendation of the ERC has been completely ignored by the government and the UGC while issuing circulars freezing the posts.

WORKLOAD

NORMS

The UGC had earlier on March 9 written to the Vice Chancellor that the workload of teachers of the University was against the UGC recommended norms of 22 hours of teaching, testing/examination, laboratory, tutorial, while the Delhi University was following only15 hours, that is 35 per cent less. The UGC directed the Vice Chancellor to amend the relevant Ordinance on workload of teachers as Delhi colleges have 35 per cent excess staff. The UGC pointed out the overall workload norm of 40 hours a week which included the number of hours to be spent on ‘teaching’ and ‘non-teaching’ activities by the teachers. However, the same letter pointed out an upper limit of three hours of teaching per day. By this provision of the UGC, teaching hours per week comes out to be 15 as is the case in Delhi University.

Therefore in order to force the university, the UGC directed that till these issues are resolved only eighty per cent of the teaching vacancies should be filled and that too on a temporary basis and further that the ‘UGC would examine the requests of all colleges on case to case basis to resolve the issue as per the UGC norms regarding workload etc.’

The issue was raised in the meeting of the Academic Council on April 26, by elected teacher members and the DUTA organised a dharna outside the venue of the meeting. In view of the discussion, the Vice Chancellor appointed a Committee to look into the matter. This Committee has not yet given any recommendation. Beyond this, the Vice Chancellor has not taken any position on the issue. His silence on this issue has also angered the teachers.

DELINKING OF COLLEGES

FROM THE UNIVERSITY

Based on the recommendations of the Ninth Report of ERC, the UGC has taken a decision in its meeting on July 25, to transfer from itself to ‘an appropriate agency designated by the state government of Delhi’ the responsibility for determination and disbursement of maintenance grants to Delhi colleges. The Ninth Report of the ERC has, in fact, stated "Now that Delhi has a full fledged state government it is recommended that the responsibility for determination and disbursement of maintenance grant to Delhi colleges should be transferred along with the funds to an appropriate agency designated by the state government of Delhi as this function causes UGC to lose focus on the issues of coordination and determination of standards in the national system."

It should be noted that the Delhi colleges are constituent colleges of Delhi University, which is a central university. The UGC has the task of determining maintenance grants and disbursing it to central universities. Transferring this duty to another agency therefore implies duplication of agencies for the same responsibility. It also means transference of the colleges to a state university. The UGC further decided to empower itself to constitute the Governing Bodies of these colleges. By these moves the federal character of Delhi University and its colleges, which is unique in the country, will be destroyed and the process of delinking colleges from Delhi University will begin. By these decisions, the UGC under the policies adopted by the central government has initiated the process of dismantling Delhi University, its federal character and its uniqueness.

DUTA DEMONSTRATION

AT THE UGC

Protesting against these attacks of the UGC regarding increased workload, freeze on appointments and delinking of colleges from the University, the DUTA organised a massive demonstration at the UGC on August 5, 2002. DUTA office-bearers led by its president, Shaswati Mazumdar, submitted a detailed memorandum to the UGC which pointed out various inconsistencies in UGC’s circulars, notifications and regulations. They told the UGC about the legal and academic implications of their communications. UGC officers could not answer the questions raised by the DUTA leaders, they in fact didn’t know even the details of inconsistencies in their own communications. In view of no response from the UGC and that the DUTA office-bearers have not been invited for talks as was promised, the DUTA decided to intensify the struggle.

UGC stipulates 16 hours for lectures and 4 hours for tutorials/practicals and 2 hours for testing/evaluation per week. Direct weekly teaching workload in Delhi University is 15 hours which includes lectures and tutorials/practicals. The UGC Regulation of December 9, 1998, which is mandatory, stipulates that "no teacher shall be expected to lecture/discussion for more than three clock hours per day." Thus the Delhi University norms are in conformity with that of the UGC Regulation. UGC intends to reduce drastically tutorials and practicals which are central to teaching-learning process. If the UGC norms are implemented, then a student will have tutorial/practical class once in four months.

Actual workload of a teacher in Delhi University goes far beyond the varieties of work listed in the UGC communications. Apart from many activities, cultural, extra-curricular, sports, seminars, debates, etc, the teachers are involved in admissions, examinations, revisions of syllabi, organising library and laboratory facilities, etc. The time spent on these activities cannot be mechanically quantified.

PRIVATISATION OF

HIGHER EDUCATION

These attacks on Delhi University should be seen as part of the central government’s overall policy of privatization and commercialization of higher education. Raising of fees, autonomy to institutions with practically no controls but wide ranging powers to managements, funding linked mandatory assessment and accreditation, and students loan scheme are some of their decisions taken on the eve of the turn of the century for massive privatization and commercialization of higher education. These attacks should also be seen as part of central government’s ongoing talks with the WTO and the measures taken by the government in the higher education sector in accordance with the provisions of the GATS.

While the anti-education and anti-people policies of the central government affect the entire system of higher education in the country, the immediate attack is on Delhi University. The university also has one of the strongest teachers’ associations in the country, which has been at the forefront of many teachers’ struggles in the past. Therefore, these attacks have been directed towards those sections of the teaching community who have a tradition of resisting measures aimed at downgrading the structure of higher education.

These attacks on Delhi University have converted the struggle on long pending demands as a struggle for existence of teachers and higher education in the country. Students are also being mobilised to participate in the struggle in order to save this University and fight against the attacks on higher education in the country. Delhi University Teachers’ Association will also appeal to the president of India in his capacity as the Visitor of the University to intervene in the matter, save this premier University from the attacks of the MHRD and the UGC, and ensure smooth teaching-learning process in the University. This appeal would be signed by more than six thousand teachers of Delhi University and its colleges.