Protest outside St Stephen's College against visit of UGC team on grant of autonomous status

A section of St. Stephen's College teachers and members of the Delhi University Teachers Association (DUTA) staged a demonstration outside the college today to protest against a UGC team's visit over grant of autonomous status.

The teachers alleged that the move would lead to self-financing courses, fee hike, "autocratic managements", "precarious service conditions of employees and decline in academic standards".

"The committee set up to examine applications from colleges for grant of autonomous status visited today. The principal tried to keep many of the senior teachers away from meeting the committee today. A similar ploy was adopted for students as well as staffers," DUTA president Rajib Ray and St. Stephen's College Staff Association president Nandita Narain said in a joint statement.

St. Stephen's College principal John Verghese confirmed to PTI about the visit by UGC team, but refused to comment further.

Ray said a delegation of teachers, staffers and students of the college, however, met the committee and expressed their opposition to the move.

"Prior to this visit, 44 out of 56 permanent teachers currently in Delhi had submitted representations to the UGC chairperson opposing the grant of autonomy to the college. Such pressure by the teachers resulted in the UGC committee that visited today asking for a meeting with all the permanent teachers, all current students available and all karamcharis," Ray said.

Various aspects of financial and administrative misgovernance as well as victimisation and harassment of students and teachers have been explained to the members of the committee, he said.

"Graded autonomy and autonomous colleges lead to self-financing courses, fee hike, autocratic managements, precarious service conditions of employees and decline in academic standards," he added.

The UGC committee, chaired by former Vice Chancellor of Allahabad University Prof. Rajan Harshe, has been tasked to examine applications from colleges for grant of autonomous status.