At DU, guest teachers fare worse than ad hocs
DIFFERENT ROLE, SAME PLIGHT Delhi University guest teachers say they are paid worse than ad hoc teachers; lack of options push them to take up role sans contracts, job security
NEWDELHI: As nearly 4,500 ad hoc teachers of Delhi University (DU) protest outside the vicechancellor’s office for the last three days against a recent circular, which they say may put their jobs on the line, the 1,500-odd teachers holding guest positions in the institute also voiced concerns regarding meagre remuneration, irregular payment of salaries and lack of job security.
“There is so much unemployment that we are willing to take up a guest lecturer position even without a formal appointment letter,” said a 26-year old guest lecturer in DU’S Swami Shraddhanand college, who was appointed to the position in September this year.
She requested anonymity, saying “The situation of guest lecturers in the varsity is so poor that I fear losing my job if I say anything.”
The August 28 circular that the ad hoc teachers are protesting mandates that colleges may appoint only guest lecturers till permanent appointments are made for fresh vacancies from this academic session. Several ad hoc teachers were left worried because they felt the circular had done away with t he ad hoc arrangement under which they were in a contractual service which is renewed every four months.
“I would have been given ad-hoc appointment had the university not come out with the August 28 circular,” said the Swami Shraddhanand college guest lecturer..
She narrated how she had not received any payment for the past three months and had been making frequent trips to the college only to find when she could get her dues.
“I taught in Aurobindo college previously for one-and-a-half s emesters, and t here t oo I received my salary very late. Moreover, we receive no payments for holidays and vacations. Even when there are positions for ad hocs, several colleges hire guests in their place. Guest lecturers are in the worst position in the university and our concerns are hardly ever taken note of by the Delhi University Teachers Association (DUTA),” she said.
Guest lecturers in the university are paid on a per lecture-basis, and are allowed to take classes for only eight hours a week.
“We need guests only when there is vacancy for a short period of time. However, guest is not something that we want teachers to aspire to be. Even with the new regulations, a guest can earn at best ₹50,000, but with the number of classes they can t ake, t hey e nd up e arning between ₹30,000 and ₹35,000. Who can survive in this city with such less money?” asked Abha Dev Habib, DUTA office bearer.
Habib said several colleges are unable to implement the new University Grants Commission (UGC) guidelines from January 2019, which increased the salaries of guest faculty to ₹1,500 per lecture, since the university was very late in adopting it.
Delhi University Principals’ Association (DUPA) president Jaswinder Singh, on the other hand, said, “We do prefer hiring guest lecturers, unless it is for a very short period of vacancy, since their position is inadequate when it comes to fulfilling the demands of an institute of higher education. A guest is hired for a very short time and cannot be given any additional responsibilities.”
“However, now the university is insisting we hire more guests,” he added.
But many guest teachers at DU say they worked in that capacity for almost a decade. Mona Singh, 46, who did her PHD from the varsity and worked as a guest lecturer and an ad hoc from 2009 till 2017, said there is no fixed time period for which they are hired.
“I was ad hoc in Aurobindo college for nine months, after being guest for three years in the same college. But due to a change in the roster, my ad hoc contract could not be resumed and I later took up a guest appointment in Dyal Singh college in 2016,” she said.
Speaking about why issues faced by guests are not taken up actively by DUTA, Habib said, “we f i ght f or all, i ncluding guests. However, a guest lecturer is not a settled form of employment and we want them to become ad hocs or fill up permanent positions.”
Former professor and dean of department of education at the Delhi University, Anita Rampal, said, “If the university hires guest lecturers for permanent vacancies, then the entire process of education becomes piecemeal. The guest is not responsible for the institution, so how can we provide students with a unique and sustained learning environment?”