DUTA Observes Strike Against the Regressive Recommendations of 7th Pay Revision

Delhi University Teachers Association (DUTA) observed a strike on Wednesday against the retrograde recommendations of 7th Pay Revision Notification and 30% -70% funding formula. Demanding the rollback of Academic Performance Indicators (API), the teaching fraternity raised their voice to enable their promotional schemes and save higher education.

In its meeting which was held on February 4, 2018, the DUTA executive discussed the inordinate delay in implementation of the 7th Pay Revision, the MHRD Pay Revision Notification dated November 2, 2017. During the meeting, DUTA shared their fear that repeated insistence by the MHRD and the UGC to generate resources to the tune of 30% will be resulting in complete destruction of the publicly funded education.

The charter of demands included assured 100% central assistance, resolve anomalies of 6th CPC, rectify minimum entry pay for assistant professors at all levels, no stagnation of assistant professors, professors and principals, promotion to a professorship in colleges, no cap on the number of posts and a notification of revised pensions under 7th pay revision.

“We teachers apprehend that the money allocated to UGC in the recent budget will not be sufficient to bear the burden of the 7th pay revision. So we are fearful that 7th pay revision may not happen as the government has consistently been maintaining that 30% of the money should be generated by the institution. If it happens, that means there is no pay revision,” said Prof. Abha Dev Habib who teaches in Miranda House, Delhi University, while speaking to Newsclick.

DUTA, which has been fighting against the government’s attempts to commercialise and privatize higher education in the country, expressed their dismay over the policies of Centre.

“The recent pronouncements of the Minister regarding contractual jobs is alarming, to say the least, and must be opposed tooth and nail. Further, the Government seems to be in no mood to resolve the anomalies of the VI Pay Commission and this will end even the notional parity between the teaching profession and IAS and other Central Services”, DUTA press release reads.

While talking about the Centre’s education policies, Prof. Abha Dev told: “The budget 2018 was seen only as a reinforcement of schemes which the government wanted to put in place. For example grants with loans from Higher Education Funding Agency (HEFA), the body which was announced by Arun Jaitley in his 2016 Budget speech.”

HEFA was granted a budgetary allocation of Rs 250 crore in the fiscal year 2018. In the fiscal year 2019, the body will be provided with a budget of Rs 2,750 crore.

“The idea behind HEFA is that higher education institutions like Central universities and IITs can take loans from HEFA which they can pay back in 10 years through student fees and so and so. All these implicate the thrust on commercialization and privatisation of public education,” Abha added.

On Tuesday also, thousands of Teachers and students of Delhi University had taken to the streets to protest against the appointment scam at the Law Faculty and Department of Education. During the protest, DUTA demanded the regularisation or absorption of long-serving ad-hoc and temporary teachers and greater transparency in the implementation of 50:30:20.

Forthcoming action programmes of DUTA:

1) February 8, 2018, Tuesday, 12-3pm: Halla Bol on UGC; (Classes suspended after 11 am; Assemble at Feroz Shah Kotla) on issues related to 7th Pay Revision and service conditions

2) February 16, 2018, Friday, 12 pm: Shiksha Bachao Rally from Mandi House to Parliament Street Issues related to 7th Pay Revision and service conditions, HEFA, Graded Autonomy, Tripartite MoUs, Inst. of Excellence

3) February 22, 2018, Thursday, 1 pm - 4 pm: Akrosh Jalsa at VC Office (Gate No 1) Issues related to Appointments, Promotions, Governing Bodies and Pension

4) February 24, 2018, Saturday, Extended DUTA Executive, 2 pm To discuss Staff Association resolutions and decide the future course of action.

5) February 27, 2018, Tuesday, DUTA GBM on Pay Revision and related matters and decide the future course of action.