DUTA Letter to Staff Associations reg. rejoining of teachers and promotions: 02.08.2020

To

President/Secretary/Office Bearers
Staff Association
———————————
University of Delhi
2.8.2020

Subject: Regarding rejoining of teachers and promotions

Dear Colleagues,

The pandemic and measures adopted by the University of Delhi in view of notifications of MHA and MHRD-UGC have created unprecedented situation. Just like the last semester, the forthcoming Academic Session 2020-21, which will commence on 10 August 2020 will be extremely unusual. Late notifications and absence of meetings of statutory bodies have furthered the chaos. For the DUTA, the issue of livelihood of teachers – ad-hoc and guest, has remained paramount and collective efforts are required to ensure that all teachers are reappointed on the first day and paid vacation salaries. The other issue that affects a large number of teachers and which has also suffered a setback due to the pandemic is the long overdue promotions of teachers.

We wish to draw your attention to these two issues and appeal to all SAs to remain prepared and aware of situations in their respective units.

1) Staff Associations must play a proactive role to ensure that services of all ad-hoc teachers be renewed in Departments and Colleges in keeping with the MHRD Record of Discussions of 5.12.2019 and vacation salaries disbursed without any delay. Interviews should be held only for additional/vacant posts.

2) Further, the DUTA, through numerous letters and in all its meetings with DU Officials, has hammered the point that measures adopted by the University in response to the pandemic – like the staggered Academic Calendars for the new and continuing students, should not adversely affect the livelihood of teachers.  In this unusual situation, when the University will have two different staggered Calendars – one for the new entrants and another for the continuing students – it is important to view the workload/ teaching distribution over the entire year (when both the Calendars would be complete) instead of in a piece-meal fashion. As in the past, teaching distribution should be carried out keeping in mind students’ interests, especially in the changed environment of teaching-learning. It is also important that guest faculty required for teaching of continuing students be appointed immediately to prevent any loss of teaching time.

3) As per the MHA notification of 29 July, educational institutions are to remain closed till 31 August. The DUTA has already written to the University administration that all teachers should be taken to have joined on 10.8.2020. No College/Head should insist on the physical presence of teachers on the reopening day. The Staff Association should ensure that College adopts pro-employee measures.

4) The Option Form for Promotions was notified by the University on 3.2.2020, and SAs had started the process of holding seminars on the issue of promotions. However, the process came to a halt due to the sudden lockdown owing to pandemic. SAs must take proactive steps and encourage teachers to submit their promotion and option forms. Promotion schemes have changed frequently in the last 10 years and teachers are at a loss to make sense of which scheme is most beneficial or applicable to them. Hence, Staff Associations are requested to set up a Sub Committee to facilitate this process and help colleagues.

In this context, we wish to inform you that in our recent meeting with the PVC, Director, South Campus and Dean, Colleges on 23 July 2020, we have categorically told the officials to process promotion cases and to notify the Promotion Form for CAS 2018. We have also told the administration that in case the University fails to notify the same in a reasonable period of time, the DUTA will release the form for the same and teachers will fill that form. The DUTA is holding a Webinar on Friday, 7 August to discuss some of the key issues. The SAs could also hold such Webinars to help colleagues.

The pressure we can exert on the University administration to clear pending promotion cases will be more if a large number of teachers submit their forms. We request all teachers and the Staff Associations, therefore, to move in a time bound manner.

The DUTA is also organising a Webinar on the issue of adhoc teachers on 4 August 2020. Posters for both events are enclosed and we appeal to you to circulate it widely. We also request SA Office bearers to join these Webinars so that we can move forward together with greater clarity. In these uncertain times, our coordinated efforts will help protect teachers’ rights in these otherwise adverse uncertain circumstances.

With regards,

Rajib Ray                                                                                           
(President)                                                                                             

Rajinder Singh