Delhi University (DU) Vice-Chancellor (VC) Yogesh Singh spoke on former ad-hoc teacher Ritu Singh's protest in an interview with PTI. The vice-chancellor termed it as an "unfortunate" incident, adding that everyday protests on campus disrupt the functioning of the university.
"This is very unfortunate. It should not have happened. But we should realise everyday protests disturb the functioning of the university. Everyone should think about it. Beyond that I don't want to comment on this," the DU VC said.
Ritu is among the hundreds of ad-hoc teachers of Delhi University who are facing displacement amid the varsity's push for permanent recruitment.
She has been staging protests against her displacement from DU's Daulat Ram College in 2020, alleging that she was not selected due to caste-based discrimination by the college administration.
In March, earlier this year, Singh set up a pakoda stall outside DU's Art Faculty to protest against the discrimination faced by Dalit academicians and raised concerns regarding educated youth staring at unemployment.
Addressing the issues, Vice-Chancellor Yogesh said the decision to discontinue the appointment of ad-hoc teachers in DU was a "tough" decision but was required in the interest of long-serving non-permanent faculty.
Stringent measures on the cards for DU?
The VC also said that the varsity does not require stringent measures like the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) to regulate protests on campus. The character of both the universities is different, he added, stated the report by PTI.
In December last year, JNU introduced a revised Chief Proctor Office (CPO) manual imposing a fine of up to Rs 20,000. This was about staging protests in the prohibited areas of the campus and levying a fine of Rs 10,000 for raising "anti-national" slogans.
In the interview with PTI, the DU VC said regulations are not required in the university at the moment.
"We are very different from JNU. It is a small-sized but reputed campus university. We, on the other hand, provide education to the masses. We have 6.5 lakh students and our impact and reach, all are very different (from JNU)," said Singh.
"DU, in coordination with Delhi Police, is managing everything and we are not facing any problem," VC said, while responding to a question on whether the varsity will consider introducing regulations like JNU to regulate protests on campus.
