DU teachers to boycott evaluation process to protest against UGC notification

They have decided to boycott the upcoming evaluation process.“We do not wish to change our stance, if our demands are not met immediately. We will also boycott checking answer papers and students will have to suffer,” said Rajesh Jha, joint secretary of Delhi University Teachers’ Association (DUTA).   

According to the new rules, the teaching hours have been increased to 24 from 16 per week for assistant professors and 22 from 14 per week for associate professors.

“By increasing the teaching hours for the faculty members, the university administration aims to reduce in the demand of teachers in colleges, which might hinder the teaching and research quality in the colleges. Also it may jeopardise the future of thousands of ad hoc teachers,” Jha said.  

Teachers linked to all political groups, including Bharatiya Janata Party’s teachers’ wing – National Democratic Teachers Front (NDTF), have joined the protest. “We refuse to accept the notification as it is against the teaching community. The UGC notification is a political diktat,” said AK Bhagi, NDTF president and Executive Council member of DU.

Meanwhile, the API is being widely criticised on campus. Under the API, those students with 75 per cent or more attendance will be eligible to evaluate their teachers. 

The decision on API, which is  mandatory for the appraisal of teachers, was taken by the UGC in its meeting held in April this year. The commission has also modified API to make teaching or learning the main criteria of appraisal, instead of research and co-curricular activities.

Earlier, 55 per cent of API grading under research category was based on the number of research papers/publications, research projects, research guidance/undergraduate dissertations and training.