FEDCUTA Press Release, 5 October 2016

In response to the call given by AIFUCTO and FEDCUTA, lakhs of teachers from Universities and Colleges, including those of 40 Central Universities, observed International Teachers’ Day by taking mass casual leave and organising dharnas at their local University Headquarters.


In Delhi teachers of Delhi University, Jamia, JNU, and IGNOU took mass casual leave and more than five hundred teachers from these universities participated in a dharna at the UGC to protest against the rapid decline of the academic standards and service conditions of teachers throughout the country owing to retrograde education policies initiated by the MHRD and the UGC. Speakers included Nandita Narain,(President FEDCUTA and DUTA), M.S.S. Raju,(President IGNOUTA), S. M. Mehmood, (Secretary JTA), Sandeep(Secretary DUTA), C.S. Rawat,(Vice President DUTA),   A.K.Bhagi,(Member, Executive Council Delhi University), Rudrashish Chakraborty,( Member, Academic Council, Delhi University) and Aditya Narayan Mishra (former FEDCUTA and DUTA President)., Mr A N Gupta(Member, DUTA Pension Committee), 


Speaker after speaker protested against the deplorable service conditions and the growing contractualisation of teachers throughout the country. In Delhi University alone, more than 4500 teachers are languishing with no permanent jobs. Teachers demanded immediate filling up of vacant posts with correct roster. Teachers lamented on the fact that the promotion avenues for teachers lay crippled for the past 8 years due to anti-teachers API system. This was one of the major reasons why the academic sector, teachers concluded, is unable to attract and retain talent. Speakers demanded that the API system should be immediately rolled back and there should be time-bound promotions with counting of past service for all teachers. Speakers also protested against the continued denial of pension to the retired teachers and urged the authorities to stop the humiliation of this most vulnerable section of the academic community.


Teachers appealed to the UGC to resolve the anomalies which arose as a result of the 6th Pay Commission including stepping up and disparity of Librarians, Physical Education teachers and academic staff with teachers. Speakers criticised the retrograde education policies followed by the MHRD and the UGC and demanded that there should be no funds cut in the allocation to the education sector, the rapid commercialisation of education policies should be stopped immediately, more and more teachers should be involved in policy making and that the academic and administrative autonomy of universities and colleges need to be restored. The Dharna ended with a pledge that the struggle will continue and spread across the country till the demands of the teachers are fulfilled.

     Nandita Narain                                                                                                         Ajay Patnaik