Ad-hoc teachers form the backbone of teaching in most colleges affiliated to the Delhi University, if one goes by statistics. As per a teacher, more than 6,000 ad-hoc teachers are working in the DU and its affiliated colleges at present.
In many colleges, ad-hoc teachers account for around 70 per cent of the faculty. As per DU data for 57 colleges, over 3,500 ad-hoc teachers are working there.
According to Delhi University, 135 ad-hoc teachers are working at Daulatram College, 134 at Ramjas College, 126 at Shri Venkateshwara College, 114 at Kalindi College, 110 at Deshbandhu College, 109 at Shyama Prasad Mukherjee College, 104 at Dayal Singh College, 96 at Shaheed Rajguru College, 99 at Mata Sundari College, 87 at Gargi College, 84 at Kamla Nehru College, 84 at Janaki Devi Memorial College, 81 at Kirorimal College, 79 at Indraprastha College, 75 at Shri Aurobindo College, and 75 at Sriram College of Commerce.
The issue of ad-hoc teachers was raised in the Rajya Sabha, wherein college- and year-wise details were sought from the Ministry of Education.
MPs Vishambhar Prasad Nishad, Chaudhary Sukhram Singh Yadav, and others asked Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal about the increasing number of ad-hoc teachers and the reasons for non-appointment of permanent teachers in the Delhi varsity.
As per DU information, 3,530 posts of teachers are lying vacant in 57 colleges.
In reply, Pokhriyal said that the university had informed the government that 56 ad-hoc teachers were appointed in the academic year 2020-21 in DU departments, adding that filling up vacant posts was a continuous process.
"Being an autonomous body created under the Act of Parliament, the right to fill up the posts lies with the university. As per UGC regulations, all sanctioned, approved posts in the university system are to be filled up on an urgent basis. The UGC as well as the Ministry are continuously monitoring the process."
Pokhriyal said that the university had advertised posts of 857 permanent faculty, including Professor, Associate and Assistant Professors, in July 2019.
Dr Hansraj Suman of Delhi University Teachers Association told IANS that 57 DU colleges have 3,530 ad-hoc teachers on its rolls at present.
"Altogether, there are more than 6,000 ad-hoc teachers in the entire DU. Further, the DU has not given any details of posts on which ad-hoc teachers have been appointed in the last five years, in addition to quota seats," he said.
Dr Suman claimed that the appointment process was taken up in some departments or colleges but shut midway. He said that he had written to the university to initiate the process of permanent appointments.
"For the last three months, the process of making permanent appointments in the departments was going on but it was stopped till the new Vice Chancellor took charge," he alleged.
