DU gets unexpected off-day as hundreds of teachers, students protest against NEP

Classes lay vacant at the Delhi University as hundreds of teachers led by the Delhi University Teachers' Association (DUTA) are protesting against the New Education Policy (NEP), one-time regulation for absorption at the university and also asked to resolve hurdles that prevent proper promotion. The teachers have also demanded the removal of the current Vice-Chancellor Dr Yogesh K Tyagi.

Student organisations — SFI, AAP backed CYSS and AISA — have also joined their teachers in the protest that started from Mandi House at 12.30 pm and will finally reach Jantar Mantar. "Hundreds of people have already joined the protest and more are on the way. By the end of the day, we expect a turnout of around a thousand," said DUTA President Rajib Ray.

Around 45 students of the SFI are set to attend the rally while 50 from Chhatra Yuva Sangharsh Samiti (CYSS) have joined the teachers in protest. Students from AISA, along with their President Kawalpreet Kaur, too have joined the protest. Most colleges had no classes.

But students affiliated to the ABVP gave today's protest a miss. "We are always with the interests of the students. DUTA's politics has always been politically motivated, as well as students have suffered a lot from DUTA's strikes from time to time. ABVP had organised a seminar on National Education Policy, through that creative program, we had taken the students' opinion to the government," said Ashutosh Singh of the ABVP. "When the Delhi government stopped the funding for 28 DU colleges, it was the same DUTA that did not raise a strong voice against it even once," he added.

DUTA has urged the administration to resolve the "anomalies of the 7th Pay Commission" and release pending arrears. They have also resolved to make the administration remove what they call the "anti-teacher" recruitment criteria, scrap National Pension Scheme and restore the old pension scheme that can benefit the retired employees.