Press Conference 28.10.2014

Organised by Delhi University Teachers’ Association (DUTA) and School of Open Learning Teachers’ Association (SOLTA)

This to draw the public attention towards the serious violations of the Ordinances and Financial Rules of the University of Delhi by the Management and the Administration of School of Open Learning (SOL) in complete disregard of the concerns voiced by the teachers from time to time. These persistent statutory violations have hugely adverse implications for the academic functioning of this premier distance learning institution.

I. Violation of Ordinance

In the architecture of governance of a college, as laid down in Ordinance XX, the privilege of deliberating upon and arriving at a decision in academic matters rests with the Staff Council. The Staff Council in turn works through a network of sub- committees, each concerned with a specific academic exercise, like preparing the time-table and organising Personal Contact Programme (PCP) classes for the students, giving teaching assignments, selecting books for library purchases and so on.The Governing Body of the SOL arrogated all the academic powers of the Staff Council on itself by creating the same committees under its direct control, thereby rendering the committees of the Staff Council redundant and in-effete.

I (a) Armed with these structural clones the Governing Body started eating into the academic vitals of the institution. The power and functions of organising the PCP was taken over in an arbitrary manner and given away to the Principals and the Administrative Staff of different colleges at a huge financial cost. The department wise list of the Resource Persons which used to be prepared by the various Departments / PCP Committee of the Staff Council were handed over to the Principals by the SOL Administration without their knowledge. As per the provisions of the Ordinance this is the work that the Staff Council has been doing right from its inception.

I (b) All admission related work is transferred to IDBI Bank without consulting the Staff Council Committee on Admission and Students’ Welfare. This has entailed over Rs 50 lakhs of utterly avoidable expenditure since the bank is paid Rs.15 per student and since employees have to be sent to bank branches (with TA/DA) for coordination. Earlier many students used to come to the School and used to seek advice from teachers for subject combinations and solving other academic bottlenecks. It is commonly believed that admissions have been transferred to bank branches because crowds of admission seekers around SOL disturbed the smooth movement of vehicles of high university officials.Looking at the legality of it, the Governing Body cannot overstep the framework laid down in the Ordinance as regards the powers and functions of the Staff Council. With the Staff Council left with no power to exercise and decide on the merits of the teaching assignments, the statutory safeguards for maintaining academic standards have been thrown to the winds. The records related to these activities of the authorities of SOL are kept secret and not available for the Staff Council even if they are public documents. Recently the Executive Director refused to give permission to teachers of SOL to conduct regular PCP classes as well. All these moves of the authorities have threatened the very existence of the Faculty Positions in SOL.

II. Financial Irregularities

II (a) The wasteful extravagance, approximating Rs.12 Crore (Rs.22 lac per Study Centre) in running the PCP only at the Study Centres, that too from the fees collected from the students, gives the whole exercise the colour of a huge financial scandal. The conduct of PCP at various centres on Sundays and Holidays used to cost anything between 1 to 3 lac rupees per centre depending on the student enrolment excluding the payment to the Resource Persons. Now in the new proposal, the Chairman, Prof.Dubey has offered more than 8 lac for the same which includes Rs.25000/month to the Principals, 16000 to the Observers and A.Os etc. However, the University’s rule does not allow this. As per the EC resolution dated 3rd November 2012 and subsequent notification dated 20th November 2012, the Principal/Professor is entitled to get Rs.5000 per month for any additional job besides the salary. The honorariums for Associate Professors and Assistant Professors are fixed at 3000 and 2500 per month respectively. This also means that Observers or Coordinators cannot get beyond this amount.

II (b) The SOL faculties who have been running this programme free of cost so far, have refused to become Observers alleging financial scam. There is no value addition in running the programme as compared to the same in the previous years. Ironically the SMS being sent to students to attend PCP classes says that PCP is not compulsory. Then why this huge expenditure on this programme which is not mandatory for the students!

III. Absence of MoUs It is learnt that Study Centres have not signed any MoU with the SOL which is mandatory keeping in view the huge budget being allocated to them. Even the proposed undertaking does not talk about provision of minimum facilities to students such as Admissions, Examinations and Library. Teachers of SOL have questioned the logic and intention behind allocation of this large amount only for PCP and without any accountability and supply of other important services to the students.

IV.  Non payment of Bill PCP Bills of about 60 Resource Persons of Deptt of History, SOL for the session 2013-14 have not been cleared by Executive Director even if the Deptt has recommended the same.   

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