2,000 teachers detained after protest against UGC reforms

Almost 2,000 teachers from Delhi University (DU) were detained by the Delhi Police while protesting against the University Grant Commission’s (UGC) notification outside the Human Resource Development (HRD) ministry building.

On Friday, thousands of teachers wearing black bands were out on the street to march from Mandi House to the HRD minintry but were detained by the police. The Parliament street police station confirmed that the teachers were detained because the police were wary of disruption in the area. All of those detained were released by the end of the day.

Teachers have been protesting against the UGC’s notification for more than two weeks. The UGC has increased the ‘direct teaching’ to 24 hours per week. For associate professors, it went up from 14 to 22 hours per week. The teachers are also protesting the students’ greater say in the making of the Annual Performance Index (API).    

The Delhi University Teachers Association’s (DUTA) Joint Secretary, Rajesh Jha said: “The central government is trying to dismantle our agitation against the wrongdoings of UGC and for that the government is using force.”

“We were heading a peaceful protest which the police tried to stop; when we tried to cross a barrier, the police detained us,” Jha added.

“The DUTA is united in agitating against the UGC notification and we demand that the notification be scrapped,” NDTF president A K Bhagi said.