Thursday, January 17, 2019

Spontaneous Protest of Teachers: an Honest Analysis


Panic on the faces of teachers is clear, intense and visible. The protest and the March today from 'Ramleela Maidan' to the 'Parliament street' indeed reflected the true mood of teachers and especially the adhoc teachers. We all are feeling agitated. The manner this protest has picked up spontaneously, it beats the anger and panic that was expressed by teachers when a modification in the workload calculations in the third amendment was noticed.

In this background, being an honest organisation, NDTF has already started to establish its links with the government to convey the mood of the teachers.

Given the track record of the present government and the manner they have responded on earlier occasions to much weaker aggressions of the teachers as compared to the present one, I am sure this new provision of appointment under 'Contract' in Delhi University under the Ordinance 12(e) will get dropped, if DUTA pursues this issue as honestly as it is expected to. I am convinced that my optimism is not based on assumptions as the way this government, reversed the FYUP format; came up with a fourth amendment nullifying its own third amendment; the manner that this government has been forced to keep on modifying its New Education Policy; the way this government went back on its plans to approve the requests of privatisation from the St. Stephens College and Hindu College; the way this government kept on reviewing the UGC regulations 2018 to finally address all the problems of promotions continuing for the last more than ten years, it is only logical to conclude a similar kind of response in this case too. There is a complete list of issues on which the HRD ministry has shown its sensitivity. This government has proved to be so sensitive that recently DUTA has preferred to launch its protest against the HRD even on several important issues including the present one, where only VC is openly responsible.

In addition to the issues listed above, when the present government reversed its own policies in response to the protest of teachers, there were other issues on which DUTA politically and tactfully convinced the teachers that it was DUTA that prevented this government from implementing 70:30 funding pattern, Loan Funding, its policy of neither implementing seventh pay recommendations nor notifying the UGC regulations 2018. As the teaching community later realised that the above threats were never real.

When tempers are running high, it is difficult to talk different. But I am ready to take a risk just because we should not repent on the desired outcome of our own agitation. Contrary to our popular perception about 'Teachers on Contract' that is traditionally associated with less salary and no counting of service, this provision offers something that doesn't match with such a traditional understanding of the term 'Contract'. Teachers on 'Contract' under this provision will get the same salary that the adhoc teachers are getting in this university and a single term will be of an entire year. In addition to this the period will also be counted as Teaching Experience.

The provision of having teachers on Contract has features that need to be discussed before rejecting it unconditionally. This provision will force the teachers to face the trauma of demanding their appointment letter only once a year which is now being done on an inhuman count of thrice in a year. Teachers appointed through this provision may be able to claim some of the additional benefits such as EL, CL, maternity, paternity and medical that is not available for them under Adhoc appointment.

NDTF is working hard to convince those who can matter to succumb to our pressure and find a legally sustainable way for allowing Absorption as a one-time exception for at least long-serving Adhoc teachers. In response to the current crisis, NDTF has postponed its ongoing efforts in this direction temporarily to shift its focus on convincing them to see reasons in reversing this misadventure of this VC. The government is being made aware of the fact that this VC has unnecessarily introduced an irrelevant provision of 'Contract' in our Ordinance against all advice when the provision of 'Adhoc' is already in existence under Ordinance 12(d).  

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