DUTA Press Statement: 28 March 2018

The People’s March against the Government’s policy onslaught of Financial Autonomy, Self-financing of courses, Negative Pay and Service Conditions of teachers, attack on Reservation and Loan-funding through HEFA, saw an ocean of people descend on Mandi House. Over 15000 teachers and students constituted the unprecedented gathering that marched with the DUTA banner through Barakhamba Road, Tolstoy Marg, Janpath and Jantar Mantar to finally culminate in a huge public meeting on Parliament Street. Students were seen waving colourful and witty posters, singing, playing musical instruments and shouting slogans against Privatisation and Commercialisation of public-funded higher education.

Teachers and students from JNU, AUD, AMU, IGNOU, and Jamia also joined the People’s March. Leaders of teachers’ associations (DUTA President, Rajib Ray, JNUTA President Sonajharia Minz, Former DUTA Presidents Ms Nandita Narain and Dr Aditya Narayan Misra), and students’ union leaders from various universities (AMUSU President Maskoor Ahmed Usmani, JNUSU President Geeta Kumari and DUSU President Rocky Tuseed) also participated in the March. Several MPs and other representatives from political parties addressed the gathering including Amarjit Kaur (CPI), Asha Sharma (AIDWA), Brinda Karat (CPI(M)), Girwar Singh, AISEC, Krishna Tirath (BJP), Mohammad Salim CPI(M), Manish Sisodia, Dy Chief Minister, Delhi, Pankaj Pushkar, AAP, Sushmita Dev,  Cong., Sanjay Singh AAP, Sanjeev Jha AAP, Sharad Yadav (JDU S), Sucharita, Lok Raj Sangathan. Students Organisation that participated in the March included AIDSO, AISA, AISF, BAPSA, CYSS, DSU, KYS, NSUI, PACHHAS, Pinjra Tod and SFI.

The Government has lately been pussy-footing around the question of public funding in higher education. However, as the UGC regulation on Autonomy and the Finance Minister’s budget announcements on HEFA have shown, the Government is keen to withdraw public-funding, impose Self-financing models on public-sector universities and colleges and force them to take loans for infrastructure by mortgaging public resources like buildings and land as collaterals. This puts a question-mark on the affordability of higher education. It also manifests itself in the Government’s unwillingness to appoint adequate teachers on permanent basis, allow fair promotional avenues, and give pensions to retired teachers.

The Government has also angered the teaching community by hastily notifying changes in the Reservation Roster on Appointments. By insisting that departments be considered as units, instead of whole colleges and universities as units, the Government has created a situation which will undermine the Constitutional obligation of reservation for SCs/STs/ OBCs and slow down the process of achieving full reservation.

Delhi University has been hit hard by all these issues in recent times. It has also been forced to start new courses in Journalism, Cyber Security and Strategic Diplomacy on Self-financing mode with teachers appointed on short-term contracts. This has severely affected the quality of teachers and the student-teacher ratio in the university. More than 50% of its faculty across colleges and departments are forced to work on ad-hoc and guest basis, without any job security or service benefits.

Hence, DU teachers and students are able to understand the grave implications of the Government’s Privatisation Agenda. The DUTA has also succeeded in rallying other universities on these issues. It demands 100% assured funding of all Central and State universities and Central Assistance to cover the 7th Pay Revision for all teachers across the nation.

The DUTA also demands immediate and unconditional withdrawal of the Autonomy Regulation, plus the immediate suspension of loan-funding initiatives through HEFA. If the Government is unable to read the writing on the wall, then the DUTA and FEDCUTA will spearhead a nation-wide movement of teachers and students, in coordination with AIFUCTO. It will educate the public against the destructive policies of the Government, in higher education.