DUTA PRESS RELEASE, 26.8.2016

A press conference was organised by DUTA more then 50 teacher of physical education and office bearers of DUTA & DUPETA. More then 30 students from Bhagini Nivedita College suffering and struggling for opting Physical Education subject  autocratically denied by the Principal were also present. following issues were discussed and highlighted.

These days everyone is concerned about the performance of our sportspersons at the Rio Olympics, and the lack of systemic support and infrastructure for sports that is essential for fostering a nationwide sports culture, through which talent can be spotted and nurtured at an early stage. The spectacular performance of a few seems to be more a credit to individual initiative rather than system and societal support. On paper, there are policies that underline the importance of physical education and stipulate measures to ensure integrated and compulsory physical education at all levels, but the reality falls far short of the stated objectives.
In Delhi University, which is a premier Central University in the capital of the country and is  catering to over 1.8 lakhs regular students, the history of Physical Education and Sports has been a chequered one, and is now facing an all-time decline for entirely avoidable reasons.

1. Low Teacher-Student ratio: To cater to about 1.8 lakh students, we have less than 100 qualified Physical Education teachers in over 75 colleges. Many colleges do not even have even one Physical Education teacher, whereas UGC stipulates a requirement of at least two in most colleges with reasonable student strength. With this abysmal teacher: student ratio of about   1: 1,800, our Physical Education teachers do their best to perform a variety of tasks such as conducting trials for sports admissions, organising sports activities for all students, looking after the infrastructure,  training and other needs of all the teams, organising intra-college and inter college competitions, and accompanying teams to other competitions in and out of the city, taking classes, setting question papers and correcting scripts for students who have opted for the academic discipline of Physical Education as part of their course etc.

2. P.E. as an academic subject: The University does not consider Physical Education as an academic subject during admissions and this proves that there is no seamless integration between schools and colleges.  There are large numbers of students (more then 200000) in the schools who opt for Physical Education as a subject and do not get to choose Physical Education as a subject in the colleges simply because it does not exist. The university does not seem to be aware that courses in Physical Education like sports psychology, exercise physiology, sports sociology, anthropometry, injuries treatment and rehabilitation through exercise, sports nutrition, bio-mechanics, Olympic education and sports management would be interesting options to students in this age of application studies.

3. Positive Steps taken by DU between 1981 and 2010: In a bid to professionalise physical education, to attract talent and to recognise the importance of the discipline of Physical Education, Delhi University through its Academic and Executive Council, took the initiative to grant recognition to Directors of Physical Education (as the teachers were earlier known as) as teachers and designated them as Lecturers in Physical Education way back in 1981. This was in consonance with a directive from the Ministry of HRD and UGC (Even the Supreme Court has mandated in 1991 that DPE’s be recognized as a teacher). In 1991, this decision was reiterated in the Executive Council and communicated to all colleges, to ensure compliance. All DPE’s in colleges had been redesignated as lecturers and their duties laid down. Subsequently,  just like lecturers in any other discipline, NET was made compulsory for their recruitment, they were given promotions under the scheme applicable to all and retirement age of 65 years and then redesignated as Assistant and Associate Professors. Currently, 98% of the Physical Education teachers are Ph.D. degree holders. They, like other teachers, have been members of Governing Bodies and have officiated as Principals. Like any other subject, Physical Education has been included in the 200 point teaching roster for implementation of reservation policies.

An exclusive Department of Physical Education and Sports Sciences (DPESS) and Sports College was set up, known as Indira Gandhi Institute for Physical Education and Sports Sciences (IGIPESS) where exclusive training and education in this area could be imparted. Physical Education teachers from other colleges could also participate in programmes and activities of IGIPESS & DPESS that became the nodal centre for the University Department of Physical Education & Sports Sciences and coordinated academic activities along with the Faculty of Inter disciplinary Studies, such as devising syllabi, setting question papers and correcting scripts. In 2008, academic courses in Physical Education were introduced as part of the curriculum for undergraduate courses. An Application Course and Discipline Course as part of BA (P), and more recently under CBCS Generic Elective Courses that Honours students can opt for. The former can be classified as a life skills course even, which should be made compulsory for every student of the university and not only for B.A.(P)

All these measures that improved service conditions of Physical Education teachers and professionalised physical education led to an influx of talent into the profession and a vast improvement in the sports performance of Delhi University students.

4. Semester Woes: From 2010, with the introduction of the Semester System, sports began to face a decline because of the limited time available to students for participating in sports, training coaching camps and for sports administration to organise inter-college sporting events within the constraints of the new academic calendar with University exams being held twice a year. Many sports stadia were constructed during the Common Wealth Games, but University Administration started using them for non-sporting activities, and they remained inaccessible to ordinary students, teachers and karamcharis. Even the University sports ground that had earlier been open to all, was closed off. DUTA continuously protested against this denial of facilities.

5. Frozen Recruitment and Promotions: Recruitment for all teachers was frozen since 2010 without assigning any reason. This had a debilitating effect on Physical Education as well, with more than half our teachers being ad-hoc with uncertain prospects, no increments, maternity, medical or childcare leave and exploitative conditions. Furthermore, with the introduction of API in August 2013, applied retrospectively from 1.1.2009, promotions have come to a standstill.

6. Attempt to Reduce Retirement Age: The latest attacks on the service conditions have come in the form of an attempt to reduce the retirement age of Physical Education teachers from 65 to 62, by reverting their designation to DPE. This was attempted by the earlier regime of Prof Dinesh Singh in 2014 in the case of an Associate Professor in Physical Education from Lady Irwin College, in violation of the University Ordinances XVIII and XXIV (pages 421 and 523) that lay down qualifications and promotion criteria for “Lecturers in Physical Education in Colleges” and not DPE’s. Moreover, DU’s own Notification to colleges dated 1.11.2013 subsequent to adoption of UGC Regulation 2010, has a separate section on Assistant Professors and Associate Professors in Physical Education. While the Governing Body of Lady Irwin College refused to be bullied into taking this illegal decision, the attempts to victimise Physical Education teachers continued, probably in retaliation to the leading role played by two prominent Physical Education teachers in the DUTA Executive in the agitation against FYUP and University misgovernance. In December 2015, an Assistant Registrar of South Campus wrote a mischievous letter to the UGC asking misleading questions about age of retirement of DPE’s. The UGC’s reply made it clear that Lecturers in Physical Education who teach courses are to retire at 65. Despite this, another mischievous letter was shot off by the AR(South Campus) and the Finance Officer to Principals of Colleges giving the impression that the reduction in retirement age had to be implemented. The DUTA has written to the Vice Chancellor, Prof Yogesh Tyagi, asking him to intervene and institute an enquiry into the malafide actions of these officials.

7. Illegal Withdrawal of PE course in Bhagini Nivedita College (Kair): The Principal of Bhagini Nivedita College, who is facing suspension by the Governing Body for severe maladministration, has on 17.8.2016, unilaterally withdrawn the Application Course in PE that was being taught for over four years, as an act of retaliation against the Assistant Professor in PE who, along with the Staff Association, has been voicing her dissent on the Principal’s misdeeds. This withdrawal as per Statute 30 of Delhi University, cannot be effected without the approval of the GB, Academic Council and Executive Council. The DUTA has written to the VC seeking his intervention to continue the course and protect the department that has played an important role in building confidence, team spirit, awareness of physical fitness, health and nutrition, and career opportunities especially in the context of women students from a rural background.

8. Removal from Teaching Roster: The latest attempt to victimise PE teachers is a letter written by the AR(Colleges) to the Principal, Institute of Home Economics to remove the Physical Education Department from the teaching Roster of the College. This amounts to an attack not only on the PE teachers who are sought to be reduced to non-teaching category (and thereby face reduction in retirement age) but is also an attack on the right of reserved category persons, SC/SC/OBC/PWD to get an appointment in this department. Apart from denying them employment, this would also be a huge loss to the sports community as a large chunk of sporting talent comes from marginalised sections, tribals etc.

The current situation is really disturbing to say the least as the university instead of moving with the times and empowering its students and teachers, has seen fit to act regressively and not work in the interests of its students/teachers. From the above examples, it is evident that vested interests are seeking to destroy physical education and sports in Delhi University. Just like in the rest of the country, this vital discipline is becoming a victim of corruption, feudalism and the petty politics of vendetta.

We appeal to our Vice Chancellor and to civil society to help us to rescue physical education and sports from the clutches of those who do not have the vision to understand the importance of the discipline or are too blinded by their vested interests and other agendas to see the havoc being wreaked by their actions.

We need your help in bringing the authorities to their senses in the best interest of all stakeholders.
We appeal to the university to take back the letters issued to colleges regarding the age of superannuation of Physical Education teachers; to restore the designation of Associate/ Assistant professor to Physical Education teachers and introduce better service conditions; to recognise Physical Education as an academic subject during admission; to introduce new courses in Physical Education and to open up the stadia to ensure the wellness of all stakeholders.

A concerted effort by all is required to save the discipline of physical education and sports not only for the purpose of winning medals, but also for promoting integrated development. The importance of sports and physical education has been emphasized by psychiatrists the world over for fighting depression and addictions. It promotes coordination of mind and body, a culture of physical and mental fitness, awareness of a healthy diet and nutrition and a positive mindset.  It inculcates the values of discipline, teamwork and harmony. Even the UN SDGs also emphasized its importance in sustainable development of the world family.

Above all, in a country of diverse cultures and ethnicities, with fissiparous tendencies and conflicts raising their heads, sports could play the role of a major uniting force.