DU seeks details from colleges on addl staff requirement due to EWS admissions

NEW DELHI: The Delhi University sought information from its colleges on the number of additional teaching and non-teaching staff members required to deal with the "additional pressure" created due to the implementation of the 10 percent reservation for the EWS category in admissions, a senior varsity official said on Wednesday.

The official said the 10 percent increase in the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) category in DU has led to an increase in the number of seats for students. However, the number of teachers and non-teaching staff has remained the same. Reservation for EWS for admission to all colleges and universities was implemented in 2019. "This has affected the teacher-students ratio and has added additional pressure on the teaching and non-teaching staff. That is why we have asked the colleges to provide us data about the number of teaching and non-teaching staff," the official said.

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In a notification issued on Tuesday, the university asked the colleges under it to provide the data by June 24. "The university is seeking the requirement of additional teaching and non-teaching staff to cope up with the additional burden in accordance with the guidelines issued, in this regard from time to time," read the notification. "You are, therefore, requested to provide the requisite data to the university latest by 24th June, 2022 positively," the DU informed the colleges under it. The official said once the colleges furnish the data about the requirement of teaching and non-teaching staff, it will be consolidated and sent to the University Grants Commission (UGC) or the Delhi government depending upon the source of the funding of the college.

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Delhi University Teachers Association (DUTA) president AK Bhagi said a delegation of DUTA met with the Dean of Colleges Balaram Pani on Tuesday and raised the matter of "additional pressure" on teachers due to an increase in admission following the implementation of EWS quota. "Implementation of EWS category has resulted in tremendous and additional pressure on teachers and infrastructure. However, UGC and Delhi University have not taken any steps in this direction. Several colleges have approached the UGC about the requirements of teachers. However there has been no response," he said.