The Delhi University Teachers Association (DUTA) said it stands categorically opposed to the Vice Chancellor's "hasty and authoritarian move to pawn away the University's future" by submitting a proposal for the Institution of Eminence (IoE) status without seeking discussion or prior statutory approval in the Academic Council and Executive Council.
The Association said, though the Vice Chancellor has called an emergency meeting of the Executive Council to extract formal approval for the IoE proposal, he has not allowed the statutory authorities any reasonable time to apply their minds and debate the implications of the problematic proposal.
"Prima Facie, the proposal is a blueprint for steady commercialisation of the University through an undertaking to start self-financing courses and online degree programmes at a massive scale in 9 new thrust areas," the teachers' body said in a statement.
Apart from Delhi University, 19 other institutions were recommended by the University Grant Commission (UGC) for the IoE status in September last year including IIT Madras, Banaras Hindu University, IIT Kharagpur and University of Hyderabad.
According to Ministry of Human Resource Development, every institute which has been accorded the status of IoE will enjoy benefits which include additional funding, autonomy in recruitment, assessment patterns etc.
The DUTA, however said, the proposal undertakes to hike student fees and employ up to 20% Foreign Faculty on an incentive-based differential pay structure.
"It binds DU in an obligation to raise 95 crore rupees towards meeting recurring expenses like salaries and 350 crore rupees towards non-recurring capital expenditure by 2025," it said.
It urged the VC to put the proposal on hold for the time being, and instead, invite the DUTA, DUSU and DUCKU for honest consultation.
"Going ahead at this point will mean compromising on the collective interests of lakhs of people associated with the University, in terms of its academic future and questions of livelihood and sustenance," it said.
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