16,000 varsity teachers to strike today

Teachers of Delhi University, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Jamia Milia Islamia and Jamia Hamdard University will be on strike on Thursday and classes will not be held.

Teachers of Delhi University, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Jamia Milia Islamia and Jamia Hamdard University will be on strike on Thursday and classes will not be held. At least 16,000 teachers from across 22 central universities will protest against the delay in finalisation of the report of the UGC’s Pay Review Committee.

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At JNU, teachers will go on strike after a gap of 10 years. “Teachers will not take classes although they can sign papers required by students. However, we are doing this reluctantly since the pay review committee has been delaying matters unnecessarily,” said Kamal Mitra Chenoy, president of JNU Teachers Association.

“Teachers are the most important part of the knowledge economy that we are trying to build. But despite repeated reminders, the committee headed by Prof G.K. Chadha has been sitting on the report for over a year now,” said Chenoy.

The Federation of Central University Teachers Association (FEDCUTA) had earlier demanded that the committee’s report be submitted by July 31.

At its request, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Union HRD Minister Arjun Singh had intervened with the UGC in this regard.

“If the submission of the report and the decision of the UGC, HRD ministry and the Union Cabinet is delayed by another three to four months, then elections will be upon us. The pay revision of university teachers will have to wait for formation of the new government at the Centre,” said Aditya Narayan Misra, president of DU Teachers Association.