Ministry of Human Resources Development
Shastri Bhavan
New Delhi – 110001
Dear Madam,
Irked by the rollback of the FYUP and the release of the DUTA’s ‘White Paper’, the DU Vice Chancellor Prof. Dinesh Singh and his team of officials in the University administration have continued on a vindictive course of action to target all sections of the University and ensure that our faith in the sanctity of rules, processes of academic and administrative justice, and rights guaranteed by law remains shaken. The restoration of normalcy and confidence within the teaching community will depend on the swiftness of the action taken by the Government in safeguarding the collective interests of teachers, students and karamcharis of Delhi University and in ensuring that the Vice Chancellor is removed at the earliest. The DUTA also demands a comprehensive Visitorial Inquiry into all aspects of his academic, administrative and financial misdeeds (as outlined in the ‘White Paper’), so that such irregularities and deviations are not allowed to occur in the future and the office of the Vice Chancellor is made more accountable.
The increasing despondency within the teaching community is a direct outcome of the prevailing situation in which, on the one hand, more than 4500 teaching posts (50% of the total strength of teachers) continue to remain vacant, while on the other, the highest statutory body, i.e. the Executive Council has been manipulated into passing extremely adverse decisions against mid-career and senior faculty in matters of Promotions and Pension. By raising the following demands, we have also tried to convey the nature of these above-mentioned issues which require your immediate intervention.
1. Immediate Resumption of Permanent Appointments in a rule-bound manner and Implementation of the Reservation Policy in accordance with the guidelines of the Government of India: For over four years now, the University Administration has not made any genuine efforts to fill up the large number of vacant teaching posts across colleges and departments in the University. An entire generation of teachers have been deliberately allowed to languish in adhoc and guest positions despite having the requisite qualifications and talent. Under pressure from sustained agitation by the DUTA and repeated reminders by the MHRD and UGC, the Vice Chancellor did make some sporadic appointments in the early months of 2014. However, these appointments were marked by the complete absence of transparency and the flouting of the GOI’s Reservation Policy. He changed the composition of the Selection Committees to an extent whereby it is currently at odds with the UGC Regulations and the Visitor’s Directive of 2003. He usurped the powers of the Executive Council to scrutinise the qualifications of the candidates appointed and minutes of the Selection Committee. He forced the colleges and departments to adopt the Reservation Roster with modalities that are at variance with the Government’s Reservation Policy. Finally, yet again at variance with the UGC Regulations, he also put in place an unfair Screening Criteria based on Points for entry-level appointments. Following the withdrawal of the FYUP, the process of appointments has again come to a standstill and the VC continues to evade all appeals for dialogue with the DUTA in this matter. The current number of teaching vacancies in DU has crossed 4500. It is an alarming situation for a Central University of repute and a source of anxiety and despair for teachers whose career prospects are getting irreversibly damaged due to the delay. The sections of SC, ST and OBC teachers have been forced to appeal in the High Court against the faulty implementation of the Reservation Roster. If this situation is allowed to continue, it will result in widespread unrest and instability in teaching-learning. The DUTA appeals to the MHRD to take decisive steps to ensure that sincere efforts are made to fill up all the existing vacancies in a rule-bound and transparent manner.
2. Withdrawal of University’s Writ Petition demanding review of High Court Order of 30.4.2014 on CPF-GPF and One-time Policy Exception to Grant Pension to everyone in service on 1.1.1986: The Delhi High Court, in its Order dated 30.4.2014, gave relief to a large number of teachers in the matter of their plea to be considered for entitlement to Pension. It did so by keeping in mind the fact that the government had intended to put every employee under the General Pension Scheme following the Fourth Pay Revision in 1986, except those who had expressly desired to continue in the Contributory Provident Fund Scheme (CPF) by the Government’s cut-off date for options, i.e. 30.9.1987. Following the Court Order, the Delhi University formed a Task Force vide its Executive Council Resolution of 27.5.2014 to study the High Court Order and implement it. However, it subsequently went back on its words and deliberately misread important sections of the High Court Order. In its EC Resolution of 14.8.2014, it decided to stop/withhold pensions for thousands of teachers and other employees who were getting relief as the result of the High Court Order. This decision also applies to the families of deceased employees who had been getting Pension all these years. Further, the University decided to challenge the High Court Order before a Division Bench and get a stay on it. This unscrupulous and cruel act, at the behest of the Vice Chancellor and the University Treasurer, has injured the dignity of many retired teachers and senior faculty who are on the brink of retirement. Their lives have been rendered insecure. It is absurd to expect them to carry on fighting for their own hard-earned Pensions in Court after having rendered a lifetime’s honest service to the University.
Moreover, even those teachers who chose the option for CPF before 30.9.1987 and subsequently changed their minds did so as the University continued to open the options after 30.9.1987. They became victims of the University’s lack of clarity regarding options to switch between CPF and GPF. While the Government has stated that no options after 30.9.1987 can be considered valid, the University continued to ask for options well after this date. For no fault of their own, teachers were caught in the web of this confusion. Subsequently, the Government’s policy on Pension changed and became pro-CPF. The DUTA appeals to the Government to make a one-time Policy exception for this small number of teachers and grant them their entitlement to Pension. For those who have already been granted entitlement to Pension by the High Court, the DUTA appeals to the Government to direct the University to withdraw its Review Petition (currently pending) and implement the High Court Order in letter and spirit, at the earliest.
3. Direct the University to withdraw its EC Resolution on Retrospective Application of Points-based Career Advancement Scheme for Teachers: The Vice Chancellor pushed through yet another vindictive decision against teachers in the last Executive Council Meeting of 14.8.2014, wherein it decided to apply the Points-based CAS for Promotions retrospectively from 31.12.2008. In doing so, the EC overturned its earlier Resolution to implement the same Points Criteria for Promotions from 17.8.2013, the date of amendment of the relevant Ordinance. It also ignored the fact that the UGC Regulations, including the Points-system for Promotions, was only notified in the Gazette of India on 30.6.2010. The current decision on Promotions is unfair to thousands of teachers who are awaiting Promotions as they are being asked to retrospectively accumulate Points in order to establish their eligibility. It is also against the UGC Act (Clause 3, Section 26) which categorically states that “no retrospective effect shall be given to any regulation so as to prejudicially affect the interests of any person to whom such regulation may be applicable.” The DUTA has also met UGC officials regarding this matter but is yet to see any positive steps taken by it. We urge you to direct the University to set aside its current EC Resolution on Promotions and honour the previous Resolution to implement the Points-based CAS from the prospective date of 17.8.2013. Moreover, we urge the new Government to have a comprehensive review of the API system for promotion that had been introduced mindlessly by the previous government. In Universities that had adopted it earlier, it has been found to be academically counterproductive and inimical to meaningful teaching and research. The findings of the Revisit Committee set up by the UGC in 2010 could be revisited to facilitate this review.
4. Withdrawal of Draconian Code of Conduct: The University has made the UGC Code of Professional Ethics actionable against the teachers by turning it into a Code of Conduct. Many of its clauses are very general and offer the scope for extremely subjective and biased interpretations. The Vice Chancellor has given himself absolute powers to determine any and all violations of this Code and initiate disciplinary action against any teacher employed in the colleges and University departments. This has clearly been done to silence all criticism and disagreement. Such a draconian Code of Conduct is unacceptable in any civilized public institution which is supposed to be governed by democratic values and offer the space for critical dialogue and allow tolerance for contrary opinion. Teachers of Delhi University are convinced that the Code of Conduct is designed to undermine the democratic teachers’ movement and hound those who fall out of the administration’s favour. Lately, the Code of Conduct has also been used as a threat against the DUTA President in order to prevent her from speaking out on behalf of the teaching community. The DUTA urges the Government to direct the University to immediately withdraw this Code of Conduct.
5. Restoration of Revaluation, Special Chance and Exam Confidentiality for Students: During the current administration’s tenure, the University has been extremely callous and insensitive towards students’ interests. Its arbitrary decisions to discontinue Revaluation and Special Chance for examinees have hit students’ career prospects hard. Students coming from poorer families have been allowed in the past to come back and finish their degrees in situation where some exigency had forced them to leave without completing their formal degree requirements. Such cases used to be considered by a committee appointed to determine those who may deserve a “Special Chance”. This practice has unfortunately been discontinued without any discussion in the Academic Council of the University. The Vice Chancellor also unilaterally introduced changes in the Examination procedure which effectively take away the examinee’s confidentiality and expose him/her to bias. This has been done by allocating exam roll numbers that are clearly identifiable in terms of the examinee’s college enrolment. Another arbitrary and unfair decision introduced alongside the FYUP has been to determine the Pass criteria on the basis of marks awarded in each paper. The earlier practice of determining the Pass criteria through the aggregate of marks secured in all papers was more just, and hence, should be revived. The DUTA demands that all these arbitrary decisions be set aside for the benefit of student community’s benefit.
6. Facilities for SOL Students: The School of Open Learning has been a victim of the administration’s extreme indifference and mismanagement. Instead of improving the facilities available to SOL students, this administration has put the SOL’s future under a cloud of doubt. From suggesting its closure to ensuring that SOL students lose the right to migrate to regular colleges, despite performing well in their Examinations, this administration has tried every trick to make these students suffer. Unless the regular colleges are brought back into the annual mode of teaching and evaluation, the SOL students cannot hope to either migrate to regular colleges or acquire a degree which is at par with students from regular colleges. Further, the quality of learning material for these students needs to be upgraded and translations of difficult English texts required for reading at the Honours-level need to be made available. None of these initiatives have been undertaken so far. The faculty intake at SOL also needs to be drastically increased in order to cater to the growing number of students and their need for regularised classes. While the SOL staff association has voiced these demands from time to time, its representatives have been harassed and subjected to intimidation by the administration. The DUTA appeals to the Government to strengthen SOL teaching through systematic initiatives as majority of the students enrolled in DU belong to the SOL and indicate its unique and wide social outreach.
7. Regular Appointments and Promotions for Non-Teaching Employees: The non-teaching staff employed in colleges and departments of DU are also plagued with large-scale contractual jobs and no promotions. Such a scenario is not only demoralizing for them but also affects the administrative, technical and support functions adversely. The DUTA demands that the Government must also ensure that regular appointments and promotions are resumed for non-teaching employees.
We have learned from a Press Release dated 13.9.2014 issued by the MHRD that several decisions were taken at the two-day retreat of the Vice Chancellors of central universities, held at Chandigarh on 12-13 September 2014. We shall submit our point of view on some opf those at a later point of time. However, we wish to bring to your urgent notice our discomfort with the decision to include the DU Vice Chancellor as member in two working groups, one to frame a National Ranking System for central universities, and the other to frame guidelines for (i) Common Admissions (ii) Common Curriculum (iii) Student Mobility (iv) Faculty Mobility and (v) a National System of Credit Transfer. Such issues require the wider discussions to be steered by persons of impeccable academic repute and sincerity who value debate, dialogue and consultation as the basis for informed policy making. The current Vice Chancellor of DU is not suitable for such tasks. His insincerity and aversion to dialogue has been manifest throughout his tenure. Succumbing to the Government’s reasonable insistence that he engage in a dialogue with the DUTA, he reduced it to a one-time farcical meeting and has since then, continued to evade all appeals for dialogue. His insensitive handling of the responsibility to restructure courses for students admitted to the FYUP, as well as his cynical backlash against teachers eligible for pensions and promotions indicate that his undemocratic and anti-academic attitude still remains unchanged. The academic disaster of the FYUP was a result of this very attitude of rushing decisions without sincere debate and for considerations other than academic quality and equity. We are therefore greatly disturbed to hear that such a person has been made a member of these important working groups.
Ever since Prof. Dinesh Singh took over as Vice Chancellor, the University has been run on the basis of his whimsical diktats and Emergency powers. Its teachers, students and Karamcharis have had to struggle relentlessly against crises affecting all aspects of teaching-learning and University life. These crises will not abate until the Government displays a strong will to restore justice and rule of law in this University. A measure of the cavalier manner in which the VC and his team of officials disregard or subvert law can be indicated by the continued unauthorized presence of the former Registrar. Despite her repatriation, she is believed to be getting access to important University files. Similarly, both the Pro-Vice Chancellor and Dean of Colleges have been retained in their respective administrative positions well after their official date of retirement. This brazenness suggests that the Vice Chancellor may be indulging in foul-play to escape responsibility for all the wrongdoings that have come under scrutiny. Unless an official inquiry is instituted against him at the earliest, he will continue to be in a position to attack teachers, students and karamcharis, as well as influence all statutory processes. The DUTA hopes that the Government will take note of this situation and take urgent steps to ensure that Delhi University does not become a casualty to his authoritarian arrogance and spite.
With regards,
Yours sincerely,
| NANDITA NARAIN President, DUTA |
HARISH KHANNA Secretary, DUTA |
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