By Pankaj Jain: Aam Aadmi Party’s Teachers Wing, AADTA, has declared a hunger strike, starting June 8, in a protest against the alleged displacement of ad hoc professors at Delhi University. The protest, as per AAP, seeks to redress grievances of ad hoc professors who have worked with the university for nearly decades but have not been inducted as permanent members.

The party also alleged the DU Vice Chancellor’s disregard for transparency and fairness in the appointment process of professors.

AAP MLA Sanjeev Jha said that former Education Minister Manish Sisodia had written a letter to the DU Vice Chancellor, instructing them against making any appointments until the formation of the governing body. AADTA national-in-charge Dr Aditya Narayan Mishra alleged a failure on the part of the VC, saying that appointments had been made arbitrarily while disregarding Sisodia’s directive.

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Sanjeev Jha said the appointments were allowed to obstruct the formation of a functional governing body, which has resulted in the displacement of a significant number of ad hoc teachers.

AAP further demanded the immediate formation of a functional body at Delhi University and urged the administration to halt the process of displacing ad hoc teachers and absorb them.

Sanjeev Jha, in a press conference, also presented a list of cases of professors, including highly qualified professionals such as university gold medalists, who have been displaced despite them having dedicated 20–25 years to teaching at Delhi University.

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Sanjeev Jha said that the formation of a body was essential for monitoring colleges under Delhi University, especially appointments of professors.

“For the first time in history, Delhi government-funded colleges have been operating without a governing body for almost one and a half years. The Vice-Chancellor has been making appointments at the University of Delhi arbitrarily, which goes against the statute, despite continuous letters from the Education Minister of Delhi,” he said.

“No appointments or decisions should be made without the involvement of the governing body and its chairman. This blatant disregard for the law and due process is unprecedented and raises serious questions,” Sanjeev Jha further said.

As a result, approximately 75 to 80% of ad hoc teachers in DU have been displaced, as per AAP.

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