With DUTA elections approaching, the central issue that will determine the outcome will be the grant of permanent appointments to ad hoc teachers in Delhi University
Dates for the Delhi University Teachers’ Association (DUTA) elections have been finalised. The Democratic Teachers Front (DTF), the National Democratic Teachers’ Front (NDTF) and Academics For Action And Development-(AAD) University Teachers’ Front (UTF) have already declared their presidential candidates, namely, Rajiv Ray, VS Negi and Surender Singh Rana respectively.
Many other teacher-activists from different political groups are also in the fray for 15 DUTA executive posts. The predominant sense, which prevails in and around the campus, is that adhocism (teaching on an ad hoc basis) will remain the central issue that will primarily determine the outcome of elections on the last day of this month. Newspaper reports also suggest so.
Debates and discussions, arguments; and counter-arguments about this continuing practice have increased manifold, particularly on the social media. And almost all groups are vociferously claiming to fight to put an end to the inhuman practice of adhocism. There is nothing new and exciting in such assertions as they have always claimed to be the saviour of hapless ad hocs. But the unfortunate fact remains that these teachers have been still teaching on an ad hoc basis and have been waiting nervously for the interviews to begin.
A particular political group, a prominent one, which pretended to be fighting about three years back for the permanent interviews to take place in a fair manner, has begun to raise a duplicitous demand for absorption without interviews.
The entire electoral campaign of this group, during the last academic council/executive (AC/EC) council elections held in February this year, entered around the mobilisation of ad hoc teachers making false promises of interview-less absorption. They knew very well that such type of absorption is never possible. But they raised it to cash-in on the plight of ad hoc teachers.
The political group concerned completely lost sight of the interest of the most vulnerable lot of teachers and went ahead to capitalise on their vulnerability for winning AC/EC elections. This was a glaring example of violating the ethics of the teachers’ union.
Despite the hype and hullabaloo created around the possibility of absorption without interviews, the processes of permanent recruitment have actually begun. And the overwhelming majority of ad hoc teachers are happy about it. They really appreciate the steps being taken for the permanent appointments.
But six months have passed and things are not moving as they should have. In spite of many assurances, including the most recent one given by nobody else than the incumbent Union Minister for Human Resource Development and the intervention of the High Court of Delhi, processes are going slow.
Many long-serving ad hoc teachers fear that it might get further delayed and, perhaps, deferred on one pretext or the other. What is genuinely required is that these processes be expedited for the eradication of adhocism at the earliest.
Ad hoc appointments are temporary arrangements against a short-term leave for a maximum of four months. University rule-books state this without ambiguity. Despite this fact, adhocism has continued for over a decade for whatsoever reasons.
It has been a long journey for ad hocs — an extremely unpleasant and forgettable journey full of miseries and misfortunes, trials and tribulations, insult and humiliation of innumerable kinds. These experiences make many very bitter and some partially or others absolutely voiceless.
Not so surprisingly, they prefer to be voiceless because that is the safest route to save job and sustain livelihood. Who has the patience and perseverance to ponder over the larger question where the state of voicelessness has really helped them or their institutions in any meaningful wayIJ
The truth is that such tendencies disable both the universities, which is supposed to be the space for questioning with a view to generate innovative ideas, and if possible new knowledge systems, and also individual teachers, who could have otherwise meaningfully contributed to the growth of their colleges and departments they are working through their research, out-of-the-box thinking and teaching methods. Thus, the very foundations of an academic set up gets weakened.
Time has, therefore, come to take an unequivocal stand on the appropriate ways in which adhocism will be entirely abolished from the university system. Ambiguity and ambivalence will no more work. Given the immense suffering of ad hoc teachers, none should continue to tread an ambivalent path.
Political groups and their chosen candidates should make up their mind whether they unequivocally support the permanent recruitment through fair, fast and transparent interviews so as to ensure quality appointments, both in the departments and colleges of the Delhi University, or wish to see ad hocs suffer more and more in the days and months to come.
In an open house with
ad hoc teachers, they ought to explain their perspectives and point of views in order to inform the ad hocs the kind of efforts and initiatives they will take to push wholeheartedly for appointments based on merit and without any prejudice.
There has been world-wide shift towards the privatisation of higher education and healthcare, ignoring the incontrovertible fact that countries which have made enormous economic advancements in a sustainable way are those that have spent public money generously on their students and on the health of their citizens.
With this backdrop, it is quite imperative for us to remember that our arguments for strengthening the public-funded higher education for one and all will lose legitimacy and may take a backseat if we insist on the ridiculous idea of absorption without interviews.
Everybody will agree with regularisation/absorption of long-serving ad hoc teachers in principle. But due process of interviews through selection commiittees has to be followed. So the eradication of
adhocism through fair, fast and transparent interviews in which academic credentials will be the sole criterion for quality appointments has to be the agenda of DUTA elections this time round.