UGC circular anti-teacher: AAP

Attacking the HRD Ministry over the UGC circular on change in working hours for faculty members, the AAP today said the NDA government is following "failed" policy of UPA and slashed budget in higher education is now forcing it to "harass" Delhi University teachers by increasing their working hours.
The party termed the circular as "anti-teachers" and alleged that it does not aim at filling up vacancies of faculty in the varsity.
"The Modi government is trying to impose the decision of previous Congress-led UPA government to introduce points system for promotion of teachers of Delhi University, which the former HRD Minister Kapil Sibal could not due to stiff opposition from DU teachers.

"The latest UGC notification appears to have been brought with the sole intention of not filling up the large number of vacant teachers posts in the colleges of the Delhi University," the party said.
"The reason is clear that the Modi government has slashed the budget for higher education and is now forcing the UGC to take anti-teachers steps by increasing their work load, in place of filling up the existing vacancies of teachers," it said.
Alleging that the central government has forced the DU teachers to go on a strike at a time when the evaluation of answer sheets of under graduate classes was going on.

Conservative estimates show at least 3,000-3,500 ad-hoc teachers currently teaching in various DU colleges will lose their jobs if this UGC notification is not withdrawn, it added.

Posing questions to HRD Minister Smriti Irani, the party said "Why is the government trying to impose the Kapil Sibal's failed policy of points system for teachers promotion?
"Why is the HRD minister shying away from implementing the recommendations of Professor Nigvekar committee which was set-up during her tenure on teachers promotion?"
DU teachers have boycotted the evaluation process for undergraduate examinations in protest against the new UGC gazette notification that has altered workload requirements for faculty members.

The gazette notification has increased the workload for assistant professors from 16 hours of "direct teaching" per week (including tutorials) to 18 hours, plus another six of tutorials, bringing the total up to 24 hours. Similarly, the work hours of associate professors have been increased from 14 to 22.