Teachers protest outside UGC office
Delhi University teachers staged a protest outside the University Grants Commission (UGC) office on Monday against the Academic Performance Indicators (API) for evaluation of performance of academicians.
Protesting in a unique way, the teachers carried umbrellas with messages like “No API”. They also submitted a memorandum of their demands to the UGC.
“It is unfortunate that despite widespread criticism of the Point-Based Appraisal System, there is an attempt to retain this irrational quantification of quality of teaching. The committee recommendations in this regard should be shared in public domain and the UGC should invite feedback from teachers’ bodies on the new proposal. Decisions that will have far reaching consequences for teachers across the country with diverse and heterogeneous contexts must not be taken without a threadbare discussion on the implications,” the memorandum said. Other demands included retrospective implementation of Career Advancement Scheme 2010, counting of past service for promotion, setting up of a pay review panel, etc.
“Deteriorating working conditions, ever-increasing contractualisation and ad-hocism, delay in promotions and denial of pension has adversely impacted State and Central universities,” it added.
A panel was constituted by the Union HRD Ministry last year, under the chairmanship of former UGC chairman Arun Nigvekar, to evaluate API regarding the entry point and career advancement of teachers and certain changes were made based on its recommendations.
A day before the registration process for admissions to Delhi University is set to begin, the university on Tuesday announced Read more
