Delhi: Twelve higher educational institutions in Delhi that are fully funded by the Delhi University (DU), but the teaching and non-teaching personnel have not received their pay in several months.
The staff members have been pounding on the doors of the University Grant Commission (UGC), pleading with them to take control of these universities.
As examples of DU colleges, mention should be made of Dr. Bhim Rao Ambedkar College, Maharaja Agrasen College, Maharshi Valmiki College, Indira Gandhi Sports College, Aditi Mahavidyalaya, Bhagini Nivedita College, Deen Dayal Upadhyaya College, Bhaskaracharya College of Applied Science, and Keshav Mahavidyalaya.
According to the workers, the Delhi government's financial grants barely cover their salary. Additionally, these universities employ contractual guest teachers who earn between Rs 12,000 and Rs 15,000 per month; but, for the past two months, many of them have not received payment. The teachers claim that they are not being paid.
According to the Delhi University Teachers' Association (DUTA), the state administration refers to the ad hoc teachers working in these 12 colleges as "ghost employees."
Ad-hoc and temporary teachers must be accommodated, according to DUTA, which has urged that a bill be introduced in the Delhi Legislative Assembly.
Additionally, the teachers' union has pushed for the rapid release of 25% of the seats designated for the economically weaker section (EWS).
DUTA has urged the Central government to directly subsume the 28 institutions that the Delhi government funds and oversees.
Ashok Aggarwal, a member of the Delhi University Executive Council and a lawyer, has stated that it is against everyone's right to a decent wage to not pay instructors and other staff members. He declared that he is prepared to support and actively participate in the case legally.
As previously stated by DUTA President Professor A.K. Bhagi, the Delhi government intends to close these 12 institutions through implementing budget cuts. "Kejriwal had released the grant in January -- before the Punjab elections, and then started stopping the grant as soon as the elections were over," he added.
According to Bhagi, the proposed budget of this year is even less than the salary budget of last year. "Nothing less than a permanent solution to this problem will be acceptable," he asserted.
According to DUTA, the professors kept on instructing the kids despite the Corona issue. They helped in the planning of training and teaching-related events as well as online programmes. However, the teachers' body claimed that more than 1,000 of these instructors have been worried about their wages for the past two years due to the "careless attitude and prejudiced thinking of the Delhi administration."
Teachers and staff in the colleges supported by the Delhi government receive their pay with a two to six month delay, however salaries are paid on schedule in all other colleges of the DU funded by the Central government.
The financial crisis has developed, making it challenging for not only the instructors but also the non-teaching employees and contract workers of these colleges to cover their daily expenses.
Even the Aam Aadmi Party's teacher organisation, the Delhi Teachers Association (DTA), has acknowledged that the "non-release of money by the Delhi government" has had an impact on these colleges.
"This has not only affected salary payments, but also pending medical bills, retirement benefits and other development expenses," DTA President Hansraj Suman told the media.
(To receive our E-paper on whatsapp daily, please click here. To receive it on Telegram, please click here. We permit sharing of the paper's PDF on WhatsApp and other social media platforms.)
