Mandatory one-day break triggers administrative crisis at Delhi University

Delhi University’s (DU) reliance on contractual employees has once again come under criticism as a mandatory one-day break before contract renewal continues to disrupt administrative functioning across the campus.

A large section of the university’s non-teaching workforce is employed on six-month contract that requires a compulsory gap before renewal, forcing hundreds of staff members to remain absent on the same day and leaving key offices understaffed.

Contractual employees play a critical role in running DU’s administrative machinery, handling work related to admissions, examinations, student records, laboratories, libraries and student support services. However, the enforced break, observed uniformly when contracts expire, results in widespread absenteeism, slowing or halting essential services and inconveniencing students.

Speaking to The Tribune, Delhi University Karamchari Union (DUKU) General Secretary Ravinder Kumar Pandey said nearly 1,500 staff members across the university are currently working on a contractual basis, with their contracts renewed twice every year.

“Because of this system, the university faces many problems,” Pandey said. “When contracts end, employees are forced to take a compulsory one-day break. On that day, administrative offices simply cannot function properly,” he added.

Pandey alleged that contractual workers are performing permanent duties, but are deliberately denied continuity of service. “This one-day break exists only to prevent regularisation and deny service benefits. It creates insecurity for workers and wastes productive working days,” he said, reiterating the union’s demand for regularisation and fair working conditions.

Contractual staff members echoed these concerns, pointing to the fixed nature of the enforced leave.

“Our contracts are renewed twice a year, and we are given compulsory leave on January 1 and July 1,” said a contractual employee.

“It is not a choice, we are required to stay away from work on those days. When hundreds of staff are absent together, the entire system is affected,” the employee said.

Another employee said the uncertainty surrounding renewal adds to the stress. “Every six months, there is anxiety about whether the contract will be renewed. Meanwhile, students suffer because offices are understaffed and work gets delayed,” the staff member said.

Staff representatives and academics have warned that such repeated disruptions compromise administrative efficiency and academic integrity, particularly during sensitive periods such as admissions, examinations and result processing.

Responding to the criticism, Delhi University officials said contractual appointments and renewals are carried out in accordance with the existing rules and administrative requirements.

A senior university official said the process follows established procedures and denied that the system is intended to disrupt functioning. “Arrangements are made to ensure that essential work is not affected,” the official said, adding that staffing policies are reviewed periodically.

However, employee unions argue that the ground reality exposes the cost of overreliance on insecure contractual labour. As demands for regularisation grow louder, the mandatory one-day break has become a flashpoint highlighting deeper issues of governance, efficiency and worker precarity at one of India’s largest public universities.