Letter to VC, 7.10.2013

7 October 2013

Sub: EC Decisions on Screening Criteria for Teaching Appointments, Composition of Selection Committees and Reservations in Teaching Appointments

         Teachers are concerned that the long overdue appointments to the thousands of vacant teaching posts are started at the earliest, that the process is undertaken in consonance with legal requirements and  that the principles of social and academic justice are upheld.  The DUTA has been closely following the recent EC decisions regarding the amendments to the Ordinances on screening of applicants for posts of Assistant Professor, composition of Selection Committees and the implementation of the Reservations Roster. It has held long deliberations over these decisions and is of the view that in the best interests of all sections, the University must reconsider these decisions urgently and take the following prompt corrective steps to ensure that there is no further delay in starting the process:

1. The Screening Criteria laid down by the University for inviting candidates for interview at the entry level for the post of Assistant Professors in Colleges and University is based on API scores and while the University has removed the upper limit on the number of candidates to be called for the interview, the number of points expected from candidates is unreasonable and therefore unacceptable. This move will immediately exclude large numbers of teachers who are teaching on ad-hoc basis for long, for no fault of theirs. It will also drive away fresh talent as such applicants will not have the requisite points. Moreover, to impose point system on candidates coming from different Universities (that follow different standards of marking and evaluation) is a move bereft of academic logic and is bound to result in the exclusion of most young teachers currently working in the colleges and departments across the University. The UGC Regulation, it may be noted, has no API scores for recruitment at the Assistant Professor level.

There is also a disparity in the number of points required for eligibility for teaching in colleges and the University departments. Hitherto, the University has not made any distinction between college and university-appointed teachers as college teachers regularly teach in the PG programmes in several departments (through the ‘Co-operative Teaching Programme’), guide M.Phil. and Ph.D. research and draw the same emoluments. Even the UGC has provided for the introduction of Professorship in colleges. Such a distinction may pave the way for academic and professional discrimination between college and university teachers.

Given the enormity of the task of recruiting thousands of teachers, the DUTA urges you to dispense with Screening altogether and allow all candidates found eligible under the UGC’s Minimum Eligibility Criteria (i.e. 55% in Master’s with NET) to present themselves before the Selection Committees.

2. The University in the Executive Council on 28 September 2013 has decided to implement the 200 Point Post-Based Roster for teaching positions. While the DUTA Executive welcomes the implementation of the 200 point roster system taking the College or the University as a unit, the modalities adopted by the University are at variance with the clear directives issued by the UGC, MHRD and DoPT, Govt. of India. The Executive Council has taken the decision to apply the 200 point roster to an alphabetically ordered, department-wise list of sanctioned teaching positions. The 200-Point Roster, on the other hand, is applicable to the college as a unit, in which all existing teachers as on 2. 7. 1997, and those appointed subsequently on permanent basis, have to be listed in order of seniority. It is on this basis that the shortfall and backlog is to be determined for the whole college and not department-wise. Once the number of reserved vacancies is identified, they may be distributed over different departments proportionately. On the other hand, the arbitrary method being adopted by the University will result in faulty rosters that are open to manipulation, create disparities between departments and undo the benefits of reservation. It is unfortunate that the University has also unilaterally decided that the cut-off date for implementation of the 200-Point Roster will be 3 September 2013. The decision to fill up the shortfall (calculated department-wise) only when the current incumbents vacate the post upon retirement or resignation also goes against the principle of social justice. The implication of this decision is that the existing backlog in Reservations will be considered non-existent and the shortfall ignored. The DUTA finds this unacceptable and demands that the roster be implemented w.e.f. 2.7.1997 and as per the modalities laid down by the GOI/UGC guidelines of 2006 without any further delay.

3. The DUTA is also of the view that the decision of the Executive Council in its meeting held on 17.8.2013 to change the Statutes and Ordinances relating to the composition of the Selection Committees is unacceptable. The Composition adopted by the Executive Council is at variance with the UGC Regulations, 2010 and this may be struck down by the Visitor as it is in violation of the Visitor’s directive to the University (dated 10.1.2004), thus precipitating a situation which may further delay the recruitment process. The DUTA demands that the composition of the Selection Committees be in consonance with the UGC Regulations.

4. The two hundred and fifty rupees that applicants are required to pay to colleges where they are applying for the advertised vacant posts has neither precedent nor statutory approval. There is no acceptable basis for charging money for applications and the DUTA disapproves of the manner in which colleges have unilaterally been allowed to raise money on their own. The DUTA demands that the University should step in to ensure that the money collected by colleges as application fee should be immediately refunded to applicants and the application fee requirement should be withdrawn forthwith.

Apart from these demands, we also urge you to resume dialogue with the DUTA. No modern university can sustain its credibility and relevance without fostering a liberal atmosphere of debate and dialogue. We will welcome any gesture, on your part, to break the ice and restore the once-amicable relations between the Administration and the DUTA.

Based on these demands, the DUTA is observing a Dharna on 19 October 2013 outside the Vice Regal Lodge between 12 noon and 3 pm. The office bearers will expect to meet you after the Dharna.