Press Statement by Co-ordination Committee of Teachers Associations of Delhi (CCTAD)

A meeting of the Co-ordination Committee of Teachers Associations of Delhi (CCTAD) took place today (26 Oct 2014, Sunday) at the office of the Delhi University Teachers Association (DUTA). This is a collective body of the various teachers Associations of the universities in Delhi and NCR, including DUTA, JNUTA, JamiaTA, AmbedkarUTA, , Indraprastha UTA and IGNOUTA.The meeting noted with concern the declining standards of the universities and their lack of democratic functioning. The following consensus points emerged from the meeting:

1. The concern over the lack of international rankings for universities doesn’t match the concern over poor functioning of the universities. Most universities, IITs IIMs etc., do not have VCs/directors and there are a huge number of unfilled teaching and administrative positions. The politicization of their appointments especially at the top has only meant compromise with academic excellence and institutionalization of political interference.
2. The current Heads of institutions of higher learning are mostly undemocratic and whimsical in their functioning. They often get away due to lack of accountability and/or political patronage.
3. The functioning of the university decision making bodies such as Academic Council, Executive Council etc., must be made more democratic by ensuring elected representation of majority of its members. At present, some universities like IPU,IGNOU, Jamia etc. do not have elected members and in other universities where they are elected, they are a minority.
4. The parliamentary/legislative process through which the acts and statutes of the universities were framed, needs to be upheld by democratic participation of all stakeholders of the universities involved.
5. Socio-legal supervison of the university functioning could be ensured through an ombudsperson, such as a Vidya Lokpal. Presently, universities are not under the ambit of lokpal.
6. Fast tracking of enquiries and exemplary action is needed on several Vice-Chancellors in Delhi currently facing charges of plagiarism, faulty appointments, corruption etc.
7. CCTAD supports the charters of Demands of various participating Teachers Associations and shall strive to highlight common issues such as urgent recruitment with correct roster and expeditious promotions,withdrawl of retrograde API system and the issues of pensions as well as monitor progress and coordinate struggles as needed. We believe that higher education is a larger public good that cannot be reduced to individual aspiration to justify self-financing, privatization and client-server relationships.
8. Academic excellence and global rankings of Indian universities cannot be built unless the malign neglect of our university system is addressed and the manner of their functioning improved with stronger social engagement and public imagination.

President                                                                                                          Secretary

Professor Arun Kumar,JNUTA                                                       Professor Manpreet  Kang, IPUTA

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