No retrenchment of professors based on workload, performance index

There will no retrenchment of college professors based on their performance index and work load while the teaching workload has been restored to earlier levels, an official statement said on Wednesday.

"There will ne no retrenchment of college professors on account of their performance index and workload. Direct teaching workload of assistant professors has been restored to 16 hours, and associate professors and professors to 14 hours each," said the Ministry of Human Resource Development in the statement.

Secretary, Higher Education, Vinay Sheel Oberoi said: "Cap on performance index, brought in by the second amendment of the UGC Regulations, has been removed."

The Delhi University Teachers Association were protesting against these clauses, brought in the amendments made last month.

Oberoi also said that mentoring of students by professors and teachers will also be recognized while calculating direct teaching score. "Achieving of minimum scoring in direct teaching dimension of performance index will also be possible with these changes," he said.

The union government had linked the scores from these performance index and tests to the promotion and increment of the college professors.

"The UGC shall maintain a list of journals for the consideration of journals to consider the performance index score. Inclusion of journals to this list will be considered by the UGC on the basis of its Standing Committee recommendations on a list, furnished by a university, and within 60 days of its receipt by the Standing Committee," the statement added.

As per second amendment to the UGC (Minimum Qualifications for appointment of teachers and other academic staff in universities and colleges) Regulations, 2010, the number of teaching hours for assistant professors and associate professors had been increased to 24 hours and for professors to 20 hours a week.

--IANS

vin/vd