Higher Education Dept's studied silence on teachers

The Higher Education Department of Delhi Government does not have the faintest idea about the vacant posts of the teaching staff in Delhi University colleges, which are fully funded by the Delhi Government. When asked about the status of the governing body of the colleges on Thursday, Punya Srivastava, Secretary, Higher Education, Delhi Government, refused to comment on the issue. Presently, in Delhi Government-funded colleges, nearly 500 seats are vacant for teaching staff. This at a time when the new session for a total of 54,000 seats in all Delhi University colleges is about to start. 

More than 20,000 students are studying in these colleges. Classrooms are overcrowded and students have to stand or wait outside in the corridors to listen to the lecture. According to the professors in Delhi Government-funded colleges, no permanent teachers have been hired in these colleges since the year 2006.  “In every DU Government college, around 40 teaching posts are vacant. We have conveyed this problem to Delhi University Teachers’ Association (DUTA) too. But, unfortunately, there is no positive response from DUTA,” said TN Ojha, Professor in one of the DU Government colleges.  

The students who are studying in these colleges say that the numbers of students are much higher than seats in a classroom. There is only one teacher available for 60 to 90 students in a class.“We are not demanding high-tech classes in our colleges. But at least we should have teachers. It is pathetic for us to learn in an overcrowded environment where most of the times, we are not able to hear the voice of the teacher clearly,” said a student. 

 In April, the Directorate of Higher Education (DHE) wrote a letter to the colleges of Delhi Government to not do any regular appointment of the teachers till the Government nominates the member of the governing body. “Still, there is the requirement of 30 teachers in our college. Though we have hired the teachers, but as ad-hoc (provisional) through the advertisement. We cannot hire teachers on a permanent basis as DHE has written to us to stop recruitment,” said SK Garg, Principal, Deen Dayal Upadhyaya College, DU.

Deen Dayal Upadhyaya College is one of the Delhi Government-funded college. Members of Academics for Action and Developments (AAD) submitted a memorandum to the DU Vice Chancellor and had asked to show his interest in the matter. According to the teachers of these colleges, there is no further work carried out in this matter by DHE.