DU teachers protest outside V-C office

Representatives of the Delhi University Teacher’s Association (DUTA) protested outside the vice chancellor’s office on Wednesday to demand permanent jobs for ad-hoc faculty members.

Representatives of the Delhi University Teacher’s Association (DUTA) protested outside the vice chancellor’s office on Wednesday to demand permanent jobs for ad-hoc faculty members.

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According to DUTA members, more than 4,000 ad-hoc teachers were suffering due to the workload fluctuations caused by the semester system and the four-year undergraduate programme.

“The university has exploited the ad-hoc teachers and about 50% of the teaching staff in the varsity is employed on a temporary basis. The four-year undergraduate programme (FYUP) has just added to the chaos,” said Abha Dev Habib, member, executive council of Delhi University (DU).

The protest raised questions on the vice chancellor’s claims that permanent appointments would be made before the new session. “The V-C had promised that the FYUP would not result in loss of employment but teachers from various colleges are concerned about their jobs. We have even heard that some colleges are replacing the existing ad-hoc teachers. The discontinuation of certain courses will affect their jobs,” said J Khuntia, chairman, Academics for Action and Development.

DUTA claimed that the service conditions of the ad-hoc teachers were discriminatory and they were not entitled to medical leave, study leave or even maternity leave.

There was even uncertainty over their vacation salaries.After the protest, DUTA leaders submitted their demands to the vice chancellor’s office.