The Delhi University Teachers’ Association (DUTA) on Monday demanded a one-time regulation for absorption of temporary or ad-hoc teachers in the university, while also objecting to a recent statement by the government on the number of such teachers across the country. It has also submitted a memorandum in this connection to the Education Ministry.
The teachers’ body objected to a recent statement by the Union education minister in Parliament, terming it “inaccurate”. “In response to an unstarred question (No. 1035) about the number of ad-hoc teachers serving in various universities of the country in Lok Sabha, the Annexure stated that there are 58 ad-hoc teachers in DU as on April 1 this year, when this is so far from the reality,” it said.
The DUTA stated that around 4,500 teachers are currently working on an ad-hoc basis in the Delhi University, with the number increasing every day as no recruitment has taken place for more than 10 years now. It also described as “shocking” the minister’s statement that the government or the UGC has no proposal to absorb the ad-hoc teachers into permanent service.
“The timing of the minister’s statement, coinciding with the fanfare with which the government is ‘celebrating’ one year of the implementation of NEP-2020, is ominous to say the least. The kind of restructuring envisaged by the government for higher education implies withdrawal of funding and reliance on loans rather than grants. This will directly entail higher student fees and fewer job opportunities, especially in those subjects that are not marketable,” the DUTA said. Various state governments have initiated such processes of regularisation for teachers in their state universities through notified executive orders, it said in its memorandum submitted to the Education Ministry.
In 2009, the UGC had asked universities and institutes to absorb UGC Research Scientists working in the unit, the body said. “In the context of the above, we demand a one-time regulation for the absorption of the temporary/ad-hoc teachers in the university,” it said.
While stating that the ad-hoc teachers of the Delhi University face an extremely uncertain future, the DUTA said their service conditions are “discriminatory” and “exploitative”, despite fulfilling all requisite academic qualifications and contributing to the university in the same way as their permanent colleagues. “The most shocking consequence of this lack of permanent employment has been on women and those from the marginalised and the socio-economically deprived sections of the society, who constitute the maximum number of these ad-hoc teachers,” it said.
The DUTA also highlighted the fact that most of the ad-hoc teachers belonging to the SC, ST, OBC and PWD categories come from really underprivileged backgrounds and are first-generation learners and the lack of stability in the profession has increased their socio-economic insecurity.
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