The Delhi University has notified the formation of a panel to address the issue of alleged teacher absenteeism. In an official circular, the university stated, "The competent authority of the University of Delhi has constituted a committee to develop a mechanism addressing the concern that classes are not being conducted by teachers."
The principals of Daulat Ram College, Shyam Lal College, Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies, Delhi College of Arts & Commerce, and Shaheed Bhagat Singh College (Evening) will form the committee. The panel shall submit its report within 30 days.
Maya John, a member of the Academic Council at the University, sought the withdrawal of the circular and the disbanding of the committee. In a Facebook post, she wrote, "The recent DU circular constituting a committee to examine alleged teacher absenteeism in DU is a notorious and farcical exercise of the DU administration. The DU administration has consistently diluted the University's teaching-learning process by enhancing the teacher-student ratios of tutorials, practicals, and lectures. It has also drastically reduced lecture hours per week. All this has adversely affected direct classroom teaching and meaningful instruction."
She claimed that many teachers are increasingly compelled, often by their college principals, to attend political programmes that have no academic content and purpose, thereby affecting classes.
