Several members of the executive and academic councils of the University of Delhi and the teachers’ association DUTA wrote to Vice-Chancellor Yogesh Singh on Monday, urging him to support the new committee set up to study the teacher-student relationship, by elected representatives of teachers to ensure “meaningful discussion”. The university recently established a seven-member committee to study and discuss the provisions related to student teaching. The committee is led by DU Director South Campus Prakash Singh and will also hold discussions on student group size for lectures, labs and tutorials to ensure optimal use of the varsity’s facilities, including laboratory equipment.
In the letter, eight teachers from the University of Delhi, who are members of the teachers’ organization Democratic Teachers’ Front (DTF), expressed shock that the committee has no elected teacher representatives from the Executive Council or the Academic Council. “Such an exercise, conducted by some principals and department heads, will be incomplete and meaningless without the involvement of elected teacher representatives who carry the mandate of the university’s teaching fraternity,” the letter read.
“We therefore request that you expand this committee to include elected representatives of teachers from all groups, as well as elected independent teacher activists, so that meaningful discussion can take place about all concerns and the implications of any changes to existing work pressure provisions,” she added. Nandita Narain, executive member of DUTA and former president of DUTA, who is one of the writers of the letter, said any attempt to muzzle teachers’ voices and make far-reaching academic decisions will not be tolerated.
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The authors of the letter included Jitendra Kumar Meena, member of the Delhi University Teachers Association (DUTA) Executive; Nandita Narain Member of DUTA Executive; Rajib Ray Member of DUTA Executive; Rudrashish Chakraborty Member of DUTA Executive and Biswajit Mohanty Member of Academic Council. Another author of the letter, Mithuraj Dhusiya, who is a member of the Academic Council, said the presence of elected teachers’ representatives is a must in this committee.
“They have both the mandate and the experience to find constructive solutions to these very important issues that directly affect the educational learning process of colleges and departments of DU.”
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