Holding Delhi University’s Vice-Chancellor responsible for delay in governing bodies of 28 State Governments funding colleges, a teachers body affiliated with the ruling AAP, met Higher Education Minister Atishi on Tuesday and apprised her that these colleges are struggling in administrative due to this.

A delegation of AAP teachers organisation (AADTA) met Delhi Education Minister Atishi and apprised her about the “delay” in the formation of governing bodies in 28 Delhi Government-funded colleges by the Vice Chancellor of Delhi University.  “The teachers also informed the education minister that this politically motivated step of the V-C is impacting the administrative functioning of the colleges severely,” the Kejriwal Government said in a statement. “The Delhi Government wants that there should not be any interviews in these 28 colleges without the formation of their governing body, because the Delhi government intends to create a system that will give priority to the absorption of existing ad-hoc teachers,” the statement said.  The Kejriwal government has written to DU in the last several weeks regarding the matter. A week before the Executive Council meeting in DU on February 3, the then Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia had sent a list of names for the governing bodies of 28 colleges. But despite this, these names were not considered, the AADTA has claimed.

 During the meeting, the president of the association, Professor Aditya Narayan Mishra, claimed that the appointment of any employee at government-funded colleges in the absence of a governing body is illegal.”

 The list was sent by the Delhi Government to the VC’s office on January 28, and in this regard, a reminder was also sent to him on February 21 by Sisodia, officials said.  Professor Mishra claimed that the intention behind the “delay” in formation of the governing body in colleges was to overturn Delhi Governments decision to absorb ad-hoc teachers.

According to the rulebook of Delhi University, the names included in the governing body will be approved by the executive council.  On January 27, the then deputy chief minister wrote a letter to the DU Vice-Chancellor stating that the Delhi Government was in favour of accommodating the ad-hoc teachers where they were working.

 He stated that the Delhi government believes that these teachers must not be displaced as their livelihood is at stake. The 28 colleges funded by the Delhi Government are being run by a small body that lacks representation from the Delhi Government.