On Friday, the staff association of Delhi University’s Shri Ram College of Commerce took out a protest march to the Vice Chancellor’s office against a circular issued by the University, asking colleges to fill vacant teaching posts using guest teachers.At present, DU is filling the vacant posts using Ad-hoc teachers. The Ad-hoc teachers are given fixed monthly stipend and are hired on a contractual basis of four months. These teachers are not given the benefits of permanent faculty members.
According to Hindustan Times, a statement issued by the staff association said, “Guest teachers are paid on a per-lecture basis and that too subjects to a ceiling on payment /number of lectures a week. This is unjust to young talents aspiring to become a teacher and shows a lack of concern for teaching and learning. It also is unmindful of the co-curricular and extra-curricular activities as well as various institutional activities in which full-time teachers participate.”
He further added “In our college, as in several others, uncertainty exists as to whether the contracts of teachers working as Ad-hoc (full-time capacity for four months at a time) will be renewed when the term of their current appointment ends. This is cruel given the fact that most of them are working for over a decade and are still awaiting permanent recruitment which has not happened for such a long time,”
The protesting teachers submitted a memorandum to the DU proctor. A senior Delhi University official said, “The university issued the circular based on the instructions received from the University Grants Commission (UGC). We have assured the protesting teachers that no ad hoc teacher will be replaced.”
