Vaibhav Singh, a professor, calls the month of July 'butchering season'. For lakhs of students studying in Delhi University, July signifies beginning of a new session. But for thousands of DU's ad hoc teachers, it determines whether they will have work for the next 120 days.
The situation gets so dire that some like Singh, who was a Hindi professor at Khalsa college for four years, get so fed up that they decide to opt out of teaching at the University altogether. Currently a professor at Ambedkar University, the professor is more relieved than happy. "Ambedkar University is liberal, non hierarchical and innovative. In DU, especially for ad hoc teachers, things are exactly opposite. It is a stressful place where you aren't sure if you won't be fired the next day," Singh says.
While Singh decided to opt out of DU, most don't, choosing instead to bear sometimes shocking treatment at the hands of university officials in hope of securing a permanent teaching position. An ad hoc teacher who taught in the varsity for four years recalls, "Six months into my pregnancy, I was told that the workload has reduced and there is no vacancy. I tried applying to other colleges, but did not get anything constructive. Eight and a half months pregnant, stressed with the job hunt, totally burned out, I lost my baby. Doctors attributed the miscarriage to stress and exertion." The teacher still continues to look for a job on campus.
For many, the uncertainty of a pay cheque means families are reluctant to marry their daughters to male ad hoc professors, and those with families find it impossible to plan anything. Still, the lure of a plush government job filled with benefits means that many are okay with waiting, sometimes for years and decades on end.
AT A GLANCE
Poor facilities
- Nearly 4,500 ad hoc teachers are working for the varsity which is around half of the total positions in the University.
- Their contracts renew after every 120 days ie four months.
They are not entitled to any benefits including medical and maternity leaves.
- No substantial recruitment for permanent teachers has been conducted since 2006.
- A three-member committee was constituted in July this year to look into the appointment and promotion of ad hoc teachers. However, no action has been taken by the committee as of now.
- Recently, a group 200 ad hoc teachers had written to President Pranab Mukherjee seeking regularisation of teachers who have been serving the Varsity for years.item 1
A case in point being a senior teacher from Shivaji college's Political Science Department who has been working as an ad hoc teacher for the last 12 years - time in which his son has grown big enough to join college. "He is still hopeful of getting permanent one day," a fellow teacher told DNA.
Meanwhile, the process to make ad hoc teachers permanent still remains in limbo, with the University having set up a three-member committee to look into the matter.
"With the fluctuating workload, contractualization is a reality. But the University really needs to speed up on appointments. Any delay will only worsens the teachers' vulnerable position," says Rajesh Jha, Joint Secretary, DUTA.
