Central University teachers on strike

Over 10,000 teachers of Central Universities in the country began a two-day strike to demand changes in the regulation on service conditions which seeks to link their promotion to output.

Over 10,000 teachers of Central Universities in the country on Thursday began a two-day strike to demand changes in the regulation on service conditions which seeks to link their promotion to output.

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The agitating teachers did not attend class in the 35 Central Universities to protest the "negative conditions" in the regulation, said Prof A N Mishra, president of Federation of Central University Teachers Associations (FEDCUTA).

He said the regulations, prepared and approved by the University Grants Commission (UGC), will force teachers to pay more attention to other activities rather than concentrate on quality teaching.

The UGC on January 16 approved a new regulation which links promotion of university teachers to their output in research and teaching rather than years of experience.

The Regulation for Minimum Qualification of Teachers will now be considered by the government. As per the regulation, the output of the teachers will be quantified and they will be awarded marks as per their works in research, teaching, publication and other curricular activities.

Unhappy over the provisions in the regulation, members FEDCUTA had earlier gone on hunger strike, but to no avail. The FEDCUTA has also decided to stage a march to the Ministry of HRD on January 29 to express its resentment on the issue.