NEW DELHI, February 3: A dharna was organised at Rajghat this morning BY the Delhi University Teacher's Association (DUTA). This was one in a series of protests planned by the association.Former DUTA president, Chief Minister Sahib Singh Verma addressed the gathering. He has assured the teachers that he will pursue their demands and also ask the Prime Minister to intervene.DUTA members and representatives of the Jawaharlal Nehru University, Indira Gandhi Open University and Jamia Hamdard protested against the indifference of the HRD Ministry regarding the revised pay scales recommended by UGC. The protests started after the Rastogi Committee submitted its report on the revised scales. The teachers first wanted the suggested scales to be increased. The UGC accordingly looked into the report and is said to have upgraded the pay scales. However, there has been no official report from the HRD Ministry.This silence has triggered off a series of dharnas by the teachers and resulted in theloss of a number of teaching days. DUTA president Shri Ram Oberoi has repeatedly asked for a clarification on when the issue is likely to be decided.Today's meeting was also addressed by JNU Teachers' Association president Anuradha Chinnoy, IGNOU Teachers' Association president A.S. Narang were among those who spoke at the dharna. Also present were representatives of the Association of University Administrators.
