MCD starts process to recognise teachers’ associations

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi is accrediting teachers' associations, inviting applications for recognition after a two-year delay. Only one will be recognized.

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi has begun the process of accrediting teachers’ service associations and have started inviting applications for recognition. This includes MCD teacher unions, none of which have been formally recognized for the past two years as the process had not been initiated, due to the standing committee’s formation being delayed.

MCD starts process to recognise teachers’ associations

The notification, also seen by HT, states that only one association will be recognised by the department, which has the maximum number of members in the MCD’s teaching staff under its education department. The number of members must also be above 35% of the total number of teaching staff under the education department. Associations will have to apply for recognition as a Service Association with their memorandum, constitution, bye-laws, names of office bearers, and estimated membership.

Kuldeep Khatri from the Teachers’ Justice Forum, an MCD school teachers’ union, claimed that the order violated the service association rules, 1993.

“The file regarding the association’s recognition has been requested. Until the requested file is received and a final determination is made regarding how many associations are eligible to enroll members among the teachers, the order to conduct membership drives is unconstitutional. Membership is supposed to be conducted by the department through the DDO zone by filling out consent forms, whereas this order is asking the association to provide its members,” he said.

An MCD official from the education department, requesting anonymity, said, “This is merely an initiation of the process of recognising associations, which they have been asking for. We require a number of people in the association, as we cannot provide recognition without knowing how many people are in the association. How can we recognise an association without knowing if it has 1 member or 40? We will follow every rule of the government while carrying out this process.”