The issue of merging the University of Delhi's College of Arts with the Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar University, Delhi (AUD) has raged on for a few months now. While students have been opposing it, citing a possible increase in fees, the teachers at Delhi University have now joined that call. The DU Teachers' Association staged a dharna in front of the house of Arvind Kejriwal, Chief Minister of Delhi. Concerns about the "fragmentation" of the varsity were at the top of their agenda. All classes were suspended at the varsity today, as hundreds of teachers joined the protest.
"We do not want any fragmentation of Delhi University. For students, getting a degree from DU is a matter of honour. And AUD is a public-private university model and there is considerable apprehension that the fees will be hiked," says Dr Abha Dev Habib, a professor at Miranda House.
The teachers also demanded the release of full grants for the 12 colleges of DU that are funded by the Government of Delhi. Alleging a fund cut from the government for these colleges, the protesting teachers, led by the President of m DUTA, Prof AK Bhagi, also reiterated their demand for the absorption of ad-hoc teachers into the colleges. They also raised concerns about pushing the burden of maintenance of these colleges onto students after allegations that costs such as salaries of teachers would be drawn from the student fund. Dr Rajib Ray, ex-President of DUTA, stated that the present allocation is insufficient and falls short of the Rs 420 crore required to meet basic needs such as salary, medical bills and other pending allowances of the employees.
The teachers place the blame solely on the Delhi government and accuse it of failing to meet its promises. "We were hoping for better governance. The Constitution says that educational institutions should be free of governance. However, the Delhi government has not delivered. While they have been implementing schemes for school education, it doesn't seem as if higher education is their priority," says Dr Dev.
DUTA says that the Leader-of-Opposition, Ramvir Singh Bidhuri and BJP MLA Vijender Gupta, who joined the protest today, met with the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi and have submitted DUTA's memorandum.