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SRCC staff association protest against DU circular on ad hoc teachers
New Delhi: The staff association of Delhi University (DU)’s Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC) Friday took out a protest march to the vice-chancellor’s office against
New Delhi: The staff association of Delhi University (DU)’s Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC) Friday took out a protest march to the vice-chancellor’s office against a recent circular issued by the university, asking colleges to fill vacant teaching posts using guest teachers.
The DU had been filling the vacant posts using ad hoc teachers at present. The ad hoc teachers are given fixed monthly stipends and are hired on a contractual basis of four months. Such teachers are not entitled to the benefits of permanent faculty members.
A statement issued by the staff association said, “Guest teachers are paid on a per-lecture basis and that too subject to a ceiling on payment /number of lectures a week. This is unjust to young talents aspiring to become a teacher and shows a lack of concern for teaching and learning. It also is unmindful of the co-curricular and extra-curricular activities as well as various institutional activities in which full-time teachers participate.”
The association said the ad hoc teachers are staring at an uncertain future. “In our college, as in several others, uncertainty exists as to whether the contracts of teachers working as ad hoc (full-time capacity for four months at a time) will be renewed when the term of their current appointment ends. This is cruel given the fact that most of them are working for over a decade and are still awaiting permanent recruitment which has not happened for such a long time,” the statement read.
The protesting teaches also submitted a memorandum to the DU proctor.
Despite several attempts, vice-chancellor Yogesh Tyagi and registrar Tarun Das did not respond to calls and texts sent for comment.
A senior DU, official requesting anonymity, said, “The university issued the circular based on the instructions received from the University Grants Commission (UGC). We have assured that the protesting teachers that no ad hoc teacher will be replaced.”
In colleges across the DU, 50% of the teaching strength are working on an ad hoc basis. “For instance, in SRCC of the sanctioned 130 posts, 65 are ad hoc teachers,” a contract teacher at the college, who wished not to be named, said.
