Several university and college teachers formed a human chain outside the University Grants Commission (UGC) office here on Monday in protest against their service conditions and to raise their voice against a ‘policy assault’ on higher education in the country.
The protest brought the Delhi University Teachers’ Association (DUTA), All India Federation of University & College Teachers’ Organisations (AIFUCTO), and Federation of Central Universities’ Teachers’ Associations (FEDCUTA) together.
The associations pointed out the ‘negative’ service conditions in the Draft UGC Regulations, the 70:30 funding formula and the shift to loan-funding through Higher Education Funding Agency (HEFA), which they felt will severely impact the cost and quality of education, appointments of faculty and staff, promotions and other benefits in public-funded universities across the country.
Classes were suspended at Delhi University and several other universities to allow teachers to participate in a protest march from Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium to the UGC office. A delegation then went in for a meeting with the UGC Secretary and presented their demands and opinion on why they felt the Draft UGC Regulations were detrimental to higher education in the country.