Striking teachers mock UGC’s no-work, no-pay threat

And going by the attitude of the university authorities, they are not way off the mark. According to the DU registrar, K K Panda: “We can implement the rule only after it is passed by the Executive Council (EC). In a meeting held yesterday, the EC has authorised the Vice Chancellor to appeal to the teachers and explore other possibilities. It has also requested the government to find an amicable solution to the problem. The EC had passed a resolution in favour of this in 1987 also. But, we try and resolve the issue without taking this drastic measure.”

When asked about how long they would go on exploring other possibilities, Panda answered lamely: “We cannot just take such a harsh step. However, if things get out of hand, which we hope does not happen, we can call an emergency meeting of the EC. The VC is also vested with emergency powers in case the situation warrants it.”

When reminded that negotiations had been underway since February, when the teachers first issued their threat to boycott the exams and almost a week of the exams had passed with the teachers boycott in place, he did not have any reply.

A DUTA activist was dismissive about the UGC threat, “This is their usual threat and we are not unduly worried. Let them implement it and then see what we will do. They can implement the `no work, no pay’ rule for refusing to invigilate, but what will they do if all university teachers refuse to evaluate the papers? That is not part of our duty, we are paid separately for evaluation work. How will they arrange for evaluators to check the answer sheets of these two lakh students?”

However, senior university leaders point out that it is usually because of political considerations that such `harsh’ decisions are never implemented. And with the BJP at the Centre and the BJP’s teachers wing controlling DUTA, the teachers are confident that they can get away with almost anything.

In a meeting held a few days ago, DUTA members decide to continue with their agitation to build-up pressure. It was agreed upon that the primary issue was to get the pay commission report implemented and then later negotiate about the `No work, No play’, rule with the government.

The UGC officials on the other hand, it seems, feel that have they done their bit by sending a letter to the VC pointing out the futility of the strike and issuing their standard threat of implementing the `No work, No pay’, rule. None of them could be contacted despite repeated attempts. The UGC chairperson Prof A.S. Desai’s assistant after giving a curt `no comment’ referred the matter to the UGC secretary Dr G.D. Sharma. Dr Sharma was unavailable for comments as he was busy with meetings.