A huge gathering of teachers present at the DUTA’s General Body Meeting today passed a unanimous Resolution opposing the Choice-Based Credit System (CBCS) and the pending Central Universities Bill. Braving the harsh summer heat, teachers assembled outside the Arts Faculty in DU and yet again exposed the inhumanity and authoritarianism of the VC Prof. Dinesh Singh who continues to deny DUTA a place for holding its meetings.
Resolutions from 52 DU colleges opposing the CBCS and Central Universities Bill were placed before the House. The volume and clarity of the feedback against these latest attempted changes is unprecedented (Staff Association resolutions on CBCS). The Government should take note of the fact that any attempt to push forward with either the CBCS or the overarching Central Universities Bill will make it extremely unpopular with the teaching community.
It was pointed out by all speakers in the GBM the UGC was acting in an irresponsible manner by yet again trying to push through a drastic change just before admissions are about to begin for the next academic session. The Government should take note of the fact that every new batch of students is being thrown into confusion and chaos as the result of its half-baked experiments. Students are the worst sufferers as they are used as guinea pigs in such experiments which are directionless and lack clarity.
The CBCS ignores the unique strengths of the public-funded universities/institutions which have pursued the goals of social empowerment, equity and inclusiveness alongside academic excellence. It is based on the Semester system which is already being widely considered a failure as it has reduced teaching time drastically, replaced teaching-learning with an excessive emphasis on examinations and assessment. It has forced a mechanical pace of learning in all disciplines. Additionally, the CBCS has proposed a variable workload for teachers in order to force mobility upon students, thereby endangering prospects of regular appointments. In trying to pay lip-service to Skill Development needs, it has proposed a structure that cuts down on courses related to the study of regular academic disciplines to accommodate token Skill-based courses. This ‘neither-here-nor-there’ approach is seen to be compromising with academic rigour and the aims of Skill Development, both. The CBCS is also an unconstitutional attack on the autonomy of universities as it is based on a uniform curriculum that has been prepared by the UGC. This step towards extreme centralization ignores the diversity of needs and local thrusts based on which universities have been given the right to frame their own syllabi and curricula. It also violates the different legislations, enacted by Parliament and State legislatures, on the basis of which separate universities have come into being and their autonomy has been defined. The DUTA has listed all the substantial arguments for its opposition to the CBCS and Central Universities Bill in its Resolution (attached).
The CBCS is also placed into the Act of the overarching Central Universities Bill which makes it mandatory for every central university to implement Semester system and Credit-transfer, Students’ mobility, partnerships with Private and Foreign universities as well as encourage Faculty Transfer. Additionally, the Central Universities Bill has removed the democratic representation of teachers from statutory bodies. Instead, it has envisaged a centralized command structure led by the MHRD and Council of Vice-Chancellors, thereby allowing unprecedented bureaucratic interference by the Government. While rejecting the two proposed changes, the DUTA has appealed to the MHRD to engage in a dialogue with teachers’ and students’ bodies about the nature of reforms required.
The DUTA GBM also unanimously resolved to reiterate its demand for the removal of the DU VC. It expressed dismay at the fact that disciplinary proceedings for his removal have seemingly come to a standstill despite the severity of the charges proven against him. Through their inaction, the Government and the Visitor are allowing him to continue his spree of arbitrary decision-making, mis-governance and victimization of teachers. Teachers from several colleges and departments of DU are battling against corrupt and vindictive authorities who are being aided by the Vice-Chancellor. The DUTA also adopted a second Resolution highlighting all the important issues that have deliberately been allowed to remain unresolved at the VC’s behest, as a result of which the university community continues to suffer on a daily basis.
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