Scam in teachers' recruitment: DUTA protest enters third day

New Delhi: The protest by hundreds of teachers from Delhi University (DU) against the alleged scam in recruitment of teachers reached its third day on Thursday, with teachers staging a demonstration outside the University Grants Commission (UGC) headquarters and asking for fulfilment of their long-pending demands.

The agitating teachers alleged that transparency was completely evaded during the recent permanent appointment of 126 candidates to the post of Assistant Professors made in the Faculty of Law.

A group of ad-hoc teachers had, on Monday, asserted that the recruitment was done in gross violation of UGC norms and guidelines and University bye-laws.

After the recent interviews for faculty members, the Faculty of Law relieved around 40 ad hoc teachers, many of them working for 10-15 years with the Department, for new teachers hired on a permanent basis.

The teachers said applications were invited through an advertisement, on January 27 last year.

"The University undertook a lengthy selection process for 126 advertised posts of Assistant Professor, for which interviews were held from July to September 2017.

"On January 30, 2018, the results of the selected candidates were read out in the Executive Meeting and till now it has not been notified in public domain. Many of the selected candidates have joined despite no declaration of the result officially till date," a statement by the Delhi University Teachers' Association (DUTA) read.

Besides stressing on reinstatement of the 40-plus ad hoc teachers, DUTA reiterated its demand for regularisation of all long-serving temporary and ad-hoc teachers, stressing that their contribution to teaching and academic growth of departments and colleges across DU cannot be ignored.

"After the (Union) Budget, there is anger in the teaching community with the realisation that the government is adamant on drastic cost-cutting and shifting to loan-based expansion of educational infrastructure. Teachers are stuck without any promotions and pensions," said Rajib Ray, DUTA president.

Ray further said, "DUTA demands resolution of anomalies of the 6th Central Pay Commission, no stagnation of Associate Professors, Professors and Principals, promotion to Professorship in colleges, scrapping of Academic Performance Indicator (API), time-bound promotions, no retrospective application of API, counting of past service, immediate notification of the new pension in the 7th Pay Commission and 100 per cent Central assistance to all educational institutions."

The Association has threatened to intensify the stir if the issues are not resolved and appealed to the DU Students Union to join the teachers' movement and support the strike.