DUTA PRESS RELEASE: 19.6.2016

More than a thousand teachers held a candle-light vigil all along the length of Barakhamba Road on Saturday evening to highlight the severe hardship faced by teachers for several years. Raising slogans like “Äbhi karo, urgent karo, sabko permanent karo”, “Down with API”, “We want promotions”, they pointed out that more than five thousand teachers have been working on ad-hoc, temporary and guest basis for more than six years, facing tremendous financial hardship, uncertainty and exploitation. Another three thousand have been denied any kind of promotion since 2008, from which date the new scheme of promotion called PBAS(API) has been implemented. Under this scheme, adopted by DU in 2013, but implemented wef 2008, teachers have to retrospectively collect a minimum number of “points” from teaching, seminars, research, extra-curricular activities, administrative work etc before they are considered eligible to be called for the promotion interview. The conditions are so stringent and unrealistic that not a single college teacher has been promoted for the last eight years.This is in complete violation of the well-established principle of parity with All India Government services, where time-bound promotions are the norm. The downgrading of the profession has led to continuous flight of talent, bringing down academic standards further. The bureaucratic quantification through points, and emphasis on quantity rather than quality has dealt a lethal blow to quality teaching, learning and research.

The DUTA is demanding that (i) the process of making permanent appointments must be started forthwith, for which the correct GoI roster be followed.
(ii) the API be rolled back, and teachers be promotion under the erstwhile Merit Promotion Scheme of 1998.
(iii) One time exemption from NET be given to PhD holders who had registered before July 2009, with no extra conditions being imposed on them retrospectively.

The DUTA is continuing with the boycott of evaluation of first and second year scripts, as well as the admissions process, including entrance exams, ECA and sports trials.
The Extended Executive of the DUTA is meeting on Monday, 20th June, to chalk out a further action programme.