DUTA Press Release; 15 November 2017

Teachers of Delhi University observed “Black Day” today to mark the beginning of their protest against the retrograde recommendations of 7 CPC. On the last teaching day of the semester, 15 November, teachers of the University wore black badges and held staff association meetings to protest the downgrading of teaching profession and continuous policy attack on public funded higher education aimed at its dismantling.

The 7th Pay revision for teachers in colleges and Universities across the country was notified by the MHRD on 2 November 2017. This pay revision through a mechanical conversion of the notionally higher entry pay and withdrawal of advance increments for MPhil/ PhD has negated the principle of higher entry pay – a principle that recognized that teaching profession requires higher qualification and late entry. The glaring anomalies of the last pay revision have not been addressed, resulting in downgrading of Assistant Professor at every level. The pay revision has created a situation of compulsory stagnation for all senior teachers, including Associate Professors, Professors and Principals very soon, owing to an arbitrary ceiling in their respective levels in the Pay Matrix. The fitment formula for incumbent teachers on 1.1.2016 is retained at 2.57 which amounts to a measly 14.27% increase: the lowest in independent India. This is starkly in contrast to the last two pay revisions where the minimum increase across all categories of teachers was 40% in basic pay. Further the MHRD notification stipulates that till the Ministry of Finance decides on the revised allowances of teachers, all allowances will be paid according to the pre-revised pay structure. DUTA considers this delay in notifying the revised allowances a deliberate and insidious attempt to deny teachers their rightful entitlements. Also it is shocking that the MHRD notification gives no reference to the revised pension benefits for teachers in accordance to the provisions of the 7th Pay Revision. This is again in sharp contrast to earlier pay revisions where the revised rates of pension, family pension and other pecuniary benefits were notified in the same notification of revised pay structures.

It is also the first time that the report of the Pay Review Committee has not been made public. In fact, another committee has been set up to look into the service conditions and it seems clear that the Government intends to bring in conditions that may make career advancements more difficult. As it is, teachers across the country have been denied promotions for past 10 years because of Point System. Teachers have been demanding its complete Roll Back. Point System, which quantifies teaching and academic work, is completely unacademic and has in fact led to dilution of academic standards and downgraded teaching.

What has irked teachers the most is Point 18 of the MHRD Notification which categorically suggests that the revised pay of teachers in the colleges and the Universities is subject to the guidelines issued by the Ministry of Finance (Dept. of Expenditure) vide OM No. 1/1/2016- E.III(A) dated 13.01.2017. The said Office Memorandum underlines the fact that the Central Universities are ‘autonomous institutions’ and hence are supposed to get only 70% of the enhanced financial burden on account of the Pay Revision, the rest to be met by the Universities through self-generation of resources. This is an unprecedented attack on the character of the public-funded institutions as it threatens to reduce funds to institutions of higher learning. This issue of reduction of funds is further underlined in Point 16, Clause (iv) where the State Universities have been allocated only 50% of Central assistance, and that too for a reduced period of 39 months, ie, till 31.03.2019, as opposed to the Central assistance of 80% for 51 months in the last pay revision. This is part of a policy assault launched by successive Governments to withdraw funding from Higher Education and also to starve Universities into penury and extinction. DUTA is alarmed by both point 18 pertaining to Central Universities and point 16 pertaining to the State Universities since both suggest the destruction of higher education in the country. This will result in massive fee hike making even public funded higher education inaccessible to large sections.

At the same time, the tripartite MOU forced upon universities by the MHRD will make it mandatory to increase student intake and generate revenue through academic and training courses and annually increase student fees. This will have adverse consequences to access to education and its content.

The last few decades have witnessed massive expansion in higher education with increased intake of students which has not been matched by a commensurate increase in the number of teachers. In fact, there has been a significant reduction in numbers of teachers. For last two decades lack of funds have pushed universities to employ teachers on adhoc or on contract basis against consolidated pays, which are in some cases as low as Rs 8000/-.  Lack of recruitment and adverse pay and service conditions of teachers has made the teaching profession less and less attractive to talent. The Government’s refusal to address the main challenges afflicting higher education and insistence that HEIs must generate resources on their own is disastrous for the future of education in the country.

The DUTA will continue its protest and has called upon teachers to participate in large numbers in the Protest Rally from Mandi House to Parliament Street on Tuesday, 21 November 2017.