DUTA asks varsity to promulgate ordinance on reservation roster

The Delhi University Teachers' Association (DUTA) on Monday urged the varsity to promulgate an ordinance on Reservation Roster for teaching positions.

In July, the appointment of academic staff in higher education institutions (HEIs) was put on hold by the University Grants Commission till the Supreme Court issued its verdict on the special leave petition filed by the HRD Ministry against a court order curtailing reservation for SC/ST and OBCs.

The UGC had announced in March that an individual department should be considered as the base unit to calculate the number of teaching posts to be reserved for Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) candidates following an order by the Allahabad High Court in April last year.

Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister Prakash Javadekar has issued statements about the government's proposal to bring an Ordinance to resolve the matter in favour of implementation of the 200-point roster treating college/university as unit, the DUTA said.

While DUTA welcomed the statements when they appeared, it has been forced to initiate protest actions to demand immediate promulgation of the promised Ordinance as several months have passed, it added.

The association has also approached political parties to take up the matter in the upcoming session of Parliament.

"The repeated mistakes/tardiness on the matter point to errors of commission rather than omission on the part of the government. The DUTA reiterates its demand for an immediate promulgation of the promised Ordinance so that appointment/regularisation of teachers can begin on the basis of a just reservation roster without any further delay," they added.