Press Release, 4.10.2013

DUTA against Screening for Appointments; also Demands Correct Implementation of Reservations Roster

The DUTA Executive has resolved to go on an offensive against the University’s decision to screen candidates who are applying for the vacant teaching positions that are being advertised across the University, as well as the deliberate attempt, on the part of the University authorities, to implement the Reservations Roster in a manner that violates the Government’s directives and distorts its policy on Social Justice.

In the last meeting of the Delhi University’s Executive Council, a proposal to screen and limit the number of candidates for Interviews by allotting cut-off points, based on certain Academic Performance Indicators, was pushed through. The University has also decided to arbitrarily implement the 200-point Reservations Roster from 3 September 2013 while ignoring the massive shortfall and backlog in reservations that has been accumulating since 1997. Besides this, the department-wise mode of post calculation in each college, at the University’s insistence, disregards the Government’s directive to calculate posts by taking a whole college as a unit. The reservations guidelines issued by the UGC in 2006 also seem to have been conveniently ignored as the University has not yet provided for reservations in direct recruitment of Associate Professors and Professors. 

While the correct implementation of the Reservations Roster, alongside all other provisions of the 2006 UGC Guidelines on Reservations, has been DUTA’s long-standing demand, the DUTA also demands that shortfall and backlog since 1997 must be filled up by the University. Further, the DUTA is of the view that in an unprecedented and extraordinary situation prevailing in the University, wherein 4000 plus teaching posts are lying vacant for years and teachers have been forced to carry on in ad hoc capacity due to the University’s stubborn refusal to resume appointments, it is unfair to apply any Screening criteria on candidates. Hence, the DUTA demands that all Screening criteria must be removed and every candidate fulfilling the minimum eligibility criteria, as set by the UGC, must be allowed before the Selection Committees.

The DUTA has decided to stage a Protest Dharna on 19 October, outside the Vice Chancellor’s Office, to press for these demands. Meanwhile, it appeals to the Vice Chancellor and his team of officials to meet and resume dialogue with the DUTA on all the contentious issues pertaining to Appointments and Reservations, so that the way to an amicable resolution may be paved at the earliest.

The DUTA has also slammed the Delhi Government’s decision to seek quotas for local residents of the State. Being a Central University, the Delhi University is open to students across the country and its national character needs to be respected. All Delhi University colleges are governed by the Delhi University Act of 1922. Hence, the State Government has no right to infringe on the University’s sovereignty by imposing quotas on colleges or create any functional differences between colleges of the University. The DUTA will firmly oppose any move to delink colleges from the Delhi University under any pretext.