UGC seeks legal opinion; drops issue from meeting agenda

NEW DELHI:Following stiff opposition by Delhi University (DU) teachers on the proposed autonomy to the varsity’s constituent colleges, particularly St Stephen’s and Hindu, the issue is learnt to have been dropped from the today’s meeting agenda of the University Grants Commission.

Ananya Panda

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 24

Following stiff opposition by Delhi University (DU) teachers on the proposed autonomy to the varsity’s constituent colleges, particularly St Stephen’s and Hindu, the issue is learnt to have been dropped from the today’s meeting agenda of the University Grants Commission.

Sources told The Tribune the country’s higher education regulator deferred the issue of granting autonomy status to DU colleges as it is still to get legal opinion on the move.

“The UGC wants to be assured about the autonomy scheme’s legal validity in the context of DU colleges and so has sought legal opinion,” said a senior official.

The DU enjoys statutory autonomy through its founding DU Act, and any move that “violates its founding act, statutes and ordinances is legally tenable”, said DUTA president Prof Rajib Ray.

While the crucial meeting was underway at the UGC headquarters, members of DU Teachers’ Association (DUTA) held a demonstration outside criticising the Ministry of HRD’s (MHRD) Scheme of Autonomous Colleges and Graded Autonomy, which they argue to be a “push towards self-financing schemes and online courses”.

“Senior UGC officials informed us this morning that the item on granting autonomy to St Stephen’s and Hindu College has been dropped from the agenda of the meeting and we were expected to withdraw the protest. But the deferral is no guarantee against the Centre’s plan to privatise the premier public-funded higher educational institutions,” said Prof Ray adding that protest would continue until the government confirms that autonomy will not be imposed on colleges.

The resentment among the teachers over the granting of autonomous status to the varsity’s constituent colleges has been growing since 60 institutions were granted autonomy under the scheme on March 20.

The DUTA has unanimously resolved to seek support against the MHRD’s move from other teachers’ and students’ unions, varsity’s karmachari union (DUCKU), MPs and political leaders, besides continuing evaluation boycott till further decision. It will try to generate public opinion through social media by creating short video clips on the “anti-people and anti-education” policies of the government.

According to the critics of the scheme, it will allow the institutions to have their own admissions and appointment rules, do away with reservation for socially marginalised section and alter the fee structure, pay and service conditions of its employees at will, thus making education expensive and exclusionary.