Rift among teachers’ groups amid protest against UGC notification

The teaching community at the Delhi University (DU) is divided over the agitation against University Grant Commission’s (UGC) gazette notification. With a group consisting of Delhi University Teachers Association’s (DUTA) office bearers holding a press conference without taking-in all the teachers group, the split has surfaced.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-linked National Democratic Teachers Front (NDTF), and the Congress-affiliated Indian National Teachers Congress (INTEC), was not called in the DUTA press meet.

According to the sources, after the press conference, the divide between the teachers over the commission’s notification has come to light. “The split amongst the teachers amid on-going agitation against the gazette notification may impact the whole movement,” sources said.

Earlier, the NDTF president and DU Executive Council (EC) member AK Bhagi had expressed his grievances over the event. According to Bhagi, there has been a general rule in the University of calling all the teachers associations in any such press conference held to convey any matter which has a larger impact.

“NDTF has always fought against the notification from the fore but it seems that the group linked to the Left and centre, namely, Academics for Action and Development (AAD) is in a hurry to take credit of the recent agitation,” said Bhagi.

However, AAD rubbished the claim made by NDTF head and said that the press conference was called by DUTA and it was scheduled to be attended by the DUTA members only.

Jha who is also holding the Joint Secretary’s office of DUTA said: “The teachers are united and fighting against bigger issues, these allegations are only a buzz.”

DU teachers have been boycotting the evaluation of the undergraduate exams for the last eleven days against amendments to UGC regulations that they argue, will lead to job-cuts to the tune of 50 per cent, increased teaching times, and drastic increase in pupil-teacher ratio in higher education.

Meanwhile, the teachers from various universities across the national Capital including JNU, Jamia, IGNOU and Ambedkar on Friday joined the on-going agitation by DU faculty members in protest against the new UGC criteria.