Demand to include elected teachers' representatives in DU panel

NEW DELHI: Several members of Delhi University's executive and academic councils and teachers' association DUTA on Monday wrote to vice-chancellor Yogesh Singh, urging him to "expand" the new committee formed to study the teacher-students ratio by including elected teachers' representatives to ensure "meaningful discussion".

The university recently constituted a seven-member committee to study and discuss provisions related to the student-teacher ratio. The committee is headed by DU Director South Campus Prakash Singh and it will also hold discussions on the size of the student groups for lectures, practicals and tutorials to ensure the optimal use of the varsity’s facilities including lab equipment.

In the letter, eight teachers of Delhi University, who are affiliated with the teachers' body Democratic Teachers' Front (DTF), expressed shock that the committee does not have any elected teacher representatives from the Executive Council or the Academic Council. "Such an exercise carried out by few Principals and Heads of Departments will be incomplete and futile without the involvement of elected teacher representatives who bring with them the mandate of the teaching fraternity of the University," the letter read. "We hence request you to expand this committee and include elected teacher representatives from all groups as well as elected independent teacher activists so that a meaningful discussion can take place on all the concerns and the implications of any changes of existing provisions on workload," they added.

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Nandita Narain, DUTA Executive member and former President, DUTA, who is one of the writers of the letter, said that any attempt to muzzle the voice of teachers while taking academic decisions of far-reaching importance will not be tolerated. The authors of the letter included Jitendra Kumar Meena, Member of Delhi University Teachers Association (DUTA) Executive; Nandita Narain Member of DUTA Executive; Rajib Ray Member of DUTA Executive; Rudrashish Chakraborty Member of DUTA Executive and Biswajit Mohanty Member of Academic Council.

Another author of the letter, Mithuraj Dhusiya, who is an Academic Council member, said the presence of elected teacher representatives is a must in this committee. "They have the mandate as well as the experience to find constructive solutions to these very important issues that directly impact the teaching-learning process of colleges and departments of DU".