DU teachers to hold protests despite talks with new VC

DUTA will again hold a demonstration tomorrow against the semester system, days after its representatives held a meeting with the new Vice Chancellor to break the logjam over the issue.

New Delhi: After a brief lull, the
teachers association of the Delhi University will again hold
a demonstration tomorrow against the semester system, days
after its representatives held a meeting with the new Vice
Chancellor to break the logjam over the issue.

The semester exams are officially scheduled to begin
in less than a month in the 13 undergraduate courses that were
made to adopt the system this year but the teachers`
association and the administration are yet to resolve theit
differences.

The Delhi University Teachers Association (DUTA) had
called off its week-long strike late last month after the
Delhi High Court asked it not to hold the students` careers to
ransom and to follow university rules.

Classes resumed following the order and Dinesh Singh
took over the office of the Vice Chancellor from Deepak
Pental, who had been loggerheads with DUTA.

However, with DUTA still asking the teachers to follow
the annual mode in teaching rather than the semester mode,
confusion persists among the students.

DUTA will hold a dharna outside the VC office tomorrow
to demand revoking of the semester system, which it calls
"arbitrary and ill-conceived".

In a statement today, the Union asked the Vice
Chancellor to immediately begin a "withdrawal of the threat of
semester examination when students have been largely taught in
annual mode".

Last week, the teachers representatives had met the VC
for over two hours, in what they described as a good gesture
by the latter who listened to their views.

However, despite the meeting which many saw as a
positive step, there is still no movement towards the
resolution of the bitter dispute.

"The ball is now in the Vice Chancellor`s court," a
DUTA representative said.

The DUTA also criticised HRD Minister Kapil Sibal for
his "inaction" in the entire issue.

"Mr Sibal had promised that the new VC will take up
with us the issue and try to resolve it, but there is still no
progress," the member said.

The association has also asked the teachers not to
participate in the semester examination process.

Meanwhile, the Delhi University Students Union too
announced that it will hold a massive demonstration on
November 12 against the persisting stalemate between the two
sides.

It said there was utter confusion as the examination
dates have been announced, despite the fact that the syllabi
are nowhere near completion.

PTI

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