UGC’s fresh directive delays faculty recruitment in DU

The recruitment process for the permanent faculty members in colleges and departments across the Delhi University (DU) has been stalled following the University Grants Commission (UGC) letter to all the universities directing them to use the new formula for implementing reservation in teaching posts. Terming the move as "anti- SC/ST/OBC candidates", the faculty members raised concerns over the new directive.In the letter to all the central/state universities and those institutions receiving aid from public funds (except minority institutions), Dr Dev Swarup, joint secretary, UGC, directed them to prepare fresh rosters for the appointments of faculty members within one month. "The appointment process, that has been pending since 2016, was slated to start in the third week of March. The university had already prepared the roster following the standard 200-point system. Now, everything will have to start from the beginning," said Hansraj Suman, a professor at Sri Aurobindo College and DU's Academic Council member.As per the new UGC formula, the reservation for SC/ST/OBC in the recruitment of all levels of teacher posts will be calculated by treating each department of the university/institution as a "unit". However, until now, the number of reserved positions were calculated by treating the university/institution as a single"unit"."The new formula will lead to a sharp drop in the recruitment of SC/ST/OBC candidates. Under this, the number of reserved posts at every level will be determined separately for each department. That means, smaller departments, having only one faculty post, can never have a reserved post," Suman said.

Meanwhile, a section of teachers alleged that the UGC's direction was nothing but "a ploy to derail the process of absorption of ad-hoc teachers". "This is the decision of the Allahabad High Court and subsequently upheld by the Supreme Court. However, all these decisions were given by the court almost a year before. Why is the UGC trying to implement it at a time when teachers are pressing for the absorption of temporary teachers?" asked Rajesh Jha, DU's Executive Council (EC) member and professor at Rajdhani College.Despite several attempts, UGC officials could not be reached for a comment.