Delhi University's (DU) Indraprastha (IP) College sacked five ad-hoc faculty members yesterday, October 1, from the Sociology Department, and replaced them with permanent faculty, allegedly with fewer qualifications and belonging to a certain ideology. While several news reports have highlighted the ideology angle, the displaced faculty members mention that the debate over ideology is clouding over a larger issue — the displacement of ad-hoc teachers at DU, resulting in "an attack on public education".
"It is not about ideology. It is about academia, credibility, education, training, and exposure. It is about the students," says one of the displaced faculty members, on the condition of anonymity, while speaking to EdexLive. According to the students and faculty, the displaced teachers were the founding members of the Sociology Department at IP College, which started in 2017. It was functioning with the five sacked teachers till date. "We have given our blood and sweat to raise the department to its present level. IP College is one of the most reputed colleges at DU, and it secured the eighth position among the top ten colleges, based on the results of the last semester," the teacher said.
Faculty have questions and concerns
As such, the faculty members question, "How are the new recruits better than us, it is we who've contributed to the growth and development of the Sociology department?" They also allege that some of the new recruits are fresh Master's students with little to no experience, while they are PhD holders with many years of teaching experience. "If we are being displaced, the ones recruited in our place should have better qualifications, but it is not so," the faculty says.
She shares her experience at the recruitment interview, where 600 candidates were called on the same day. "I was asked about how many publications I had, and was looked down upon for having only two, whereas, the faculty hired is not known to have any," the teacher said. "How is this fair, and how will the reputation and legacy of the department and college be upheld?" she asks, stating that it was important to take the sanctity of the subject into consideration. DU, however, has introduced an "allied discipline" category for the recruitment process, under which, candidates from any discipline can be hired for Sociology, as the term 'allied' has no limiting parameters set with it.
Another concern of the displaced faculty members is students' education. "It is in the middle of a semester that the replacement of faculty is being made. The National Education Policy (NEP) has also been introduced this year. It is difficult for the students to adapt to these changes," the teacher explains.
Associations speak
According to the teachers, ad-hoc displacements have been going on at DU over the past few months, after the recruitment drive began. Before IP College, ad-hoc faculty at Satyawati, Dayal Singh, Delhi College of Arts and Commerce and other colleges were replaced. Over this matter, the Delhi University Teachers' Association (DUTA) brought out a resolution recently, which promised that all existing ad-hoc teachers at the university shall be absorbed. Notably, this has been a long-standing demand of DUTA.
But, "What has happened is a serious violation of DUTA's Resolution," says Rajesh Jha, a member of Academics for Action and Development and Delhi Teachers’ Association (AADTA). This organisation had previously protested several times against ad-hoc displacement at DU. "When it happened at Satyawati College, two faculty members had penned down their grievances to the authorities, but it bore no results. Despite our protests, unfortunately, we also could not secure a mandate against such displacements. But our struggle will continue," Jha adds. He informs that up till now, about 70 per cent of the total ad-hoc faculty at DU have been displaced.
"It is unfair. I am against this," agrees Surender Singh, Secretary, DUTA. "It was the DUTA Executives' decision to stop ad-hoc displacements. We sent a representation to the President as well on September 22, but no response has been received. DUTA elections will be held in two to three days, after which, a new Executive meeting will take place. Then we will decide what to do about this issue next," he added.
The DUTA Secretary highlighted the problems ad-hoc teachers face when displaced. "They have taught here for 10-15 years, and are now 40-50 years old. At this age, it is not convenient to find employment elsewhere. They are also adapted to the culture at DU, while the new ones will take time to get experienced. The university should understand this," he says.
Nonetheless, a displaced teacher from IP College remarked, "More than our bread and butter, we are concerned about education and the students."
