When the new session in Delhi University starts on July 16,chances are there would not be enough teachers to hold classes. With new guidelines of the Union Grants Commission (UGC) making it mandatory for college teachers to clear the National Eligibility Test (NET),as many as 700 ad hoc teachers and guest faculty members will face the axe,say members of the All India University Researchers Association (AIURA). This year,Delhi University has increased seats in colleges by 7,000 to introduce reservation for OBC students. With a burgeoning student population,the UGC had recently sanctioned 3,400 teaching positions for the university. Members of AIURA fear there may not be enough people to fill the posts given the current criteria. Before the new guidelines were given,those with an MPhil or a PhD degree were exempted from NET and could teach in colleges. With the new rule in place,only those with a PhD have been exempted,that too in special cases. Also,the new guidelines are retrospective,meaning they would even apply to those who have completed their research and are already teaching on temporary basis. Even if the UGC has set the guidelines,they should have fixed a date for implementation in future instead of making it mandatory for every person in the university who is not a permanent faculty, AIURA president K M Vats said. Recently,AIURA members met AICC general secretary Janardhan Dwivedi,who reportedly them that he will take up the issue with new Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal. Ever since UGC issued the declaration on May 27,the Delhi University Teachers Association (DUTA) has been opposing it. DUTA contends it will only create problems in educational institutes. DUTA president Aditya Narayan Misra points out,The UGC Act says nothing can be applied retrospectively,so how can the UGC violate its own rules? Vats complains that this is the third time in three years that the UGC has changed its stand on NET qualifications. We wanted the UGC to continue with its former policy because M.Phil and PhD are the highest degrees in academics and NET does not even guarantee a job. If so many people become jobless,researchers will have no other option but to take to crime. The new notification is expected to reach DU in a few days and will probably create similar problems in all universities in the country, he said. UGCs flip-flops1991: NET made compulsory for teaching in higher educational institutes2006: M.Phil/PhD degree holders exempted from NET for indefinite period on the recommendation of Prof. Bhalchad Mungekar Committee2008: M.Phil degree holders to be exempted from NET till June 2009,and PhD degree holders to be exempted from NET till 20112009: UGC withdraws exemption offered to MPhil degree holders
