Members of the Delhi University Teachers Association today took out a candlelight march in protest against the UGC's move to grant autonomy to varsities based on National Institutional Ranking Framework rankings and NAAC score. "Autonomy to offer self-financing courses, establishing self-financing centers and freedom to increase fees can only be seen as a push towards commercialisation by the government," said DUTA president Nandita Narain.
Burden of sustaining central and state universities is being shifted to students and parents, she added. Demand to implement and make public a report of the Pay Revision Committee, withdrawal of retrospective application of API in Delhi University were some of the other demands. The DUTA also demands that the Judgement of the Double Bench, High Court which upheld pension as a basic right and granted pension to all categories of teachers employed as on 1987 should be implemented it toto, Narain said.
Some of the teachers were temporarily detained when they were marching towards Parliament Street.
