DU teachers urge VC to 'review' suspension of staff appointment in 32 colleges

New Delhi: Seven teachers of Delhi University’s Academics for Action and Development on Sunday wrote to Vice-Chancellor Yogesh Singh, urging him to "review" the suspension of appointment of teaching and non-teaching employees in the varsity’s 32 colleges without regular principals.

The teachers, including the members of the Academic Council and Executive Council, have said that the notification will adversely affect the quality of the teaching-learning process in such colleges which are already short-staffed. The move comes after the varsity’s assistant registrar, in a letter dated May 18 to college governing bodies, said the appointment of teaching and non-teaching posts should not be allowed either on a contract, ad hoc or regular basis till a regular principal is appointed.

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"The letter no. CB/ApptPrincipals/2022/073 dated 18.05.2022 written to the chairpersons of college GBs (governing bodies) for stopping appointments of teaching and non-teaching employees, is not in consonance with the federal nature, principles, norms and practices of this 100 years old Delhi University," the teachers’ letter to VC read.

The teachers asserted that the delay in the permanent appointments of the principals due to various extraneous reasons must not result in a situation where imparting instructions in colleges is impaired. "The said letter has all the potential to further affect adversely, the quality of teaching -learning process in colleges which are already short-staffed," the letter stated.

The teachers pointed out that the notification also annuls the appointments with retrospective effect. "Such steps shall unnecessarily penalise the concerned employees, including the teaching staff, with no fault of their own. Hence, the said letter dated 18.5.2022 needs to be reviewed without any delay," the letter highlighted.

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The teachers asked Singh to take appropriate steps to enable the college GBs to "continue performing their duties, vested in them by the university statutes so that the colleges shall continue to function efficiently without any disruption".

At present, these 32 colleges of Delhi University do not have regular principals, officials said. In the May 18 letter, it was conveyed to colleges to take expeditious action in convening the meeting of the selection committee for appointing regular principals of the colleges.