Delhi University : Storm in a Tea Cup

 

Delhi university is one of the most prestigious universities in the country

NK SINGH

The present agitation of Delhi University teachers against the DU (Amendment) Bill, 1972, which, incidentally, had already been promulgated through a Presidential June 22 Ordinance on is a typical example of the petty bourgeosie intelligentsia fighting for its pay-packets while trying to conceal the fact in high sounding jargon such as "struggle against elitism, academic deterioration, commercialisation, and a substandardisation of education. at the undergraduate level".

The real issue, viz, the denial of democratic rights, has been left out in the lurch, or at least given secondary position. Raising it would involve a confrontation with the Establishment, for which only a few and still fewer among the gurus are prepared.

Such a short-natured struggle is bound to meet its doom. There are reports already of a split among the leadership of the Delhi University Teachers' Association, and it is said to be engineered by the 'progressive' Vice-Chancellor.

Seldom has Delhi University been so rocked by controversy as over the DU (Amendment) Bill. The move has already caused a one-day, strike (August 2) on the campus, and two massive demonstrations by agitated teachers (one before the VC on August 1 and the other before Parliament House on August). 

All opposition parties, and even the Congress controlled National Students' Union, are supporting or are pledged to support the teachers' struggle. The students and the non-teaching staff, too, have extended their open hearted support.

Strictly speaking, the University is run on rules framed by bodies called the University Court, the Executive Council, and the Academic Council. Except for the Academic Council, which has a microscopic teachers' representation, none of these bodies has any representation of students, teachers, or non-teaching staff. 

The Presidential Ordinance aims to give statute making authority to the Executive Council, to give autonomy to the professional colleges, and to set up three College Coun- cils for three clusters of colleges with each one headed by a Pro VC. 

The University maintains that the measure is necessary because of "the sociological problems of abnormal growth". From a few hundred students in 1922 it has to cope now with 90,000 students and 35,000 teachers. It is necessary, therefore, to decentralise the University administration.

On the face of it, the College Councils would be just an administrative arrangement intended to look after a certain number of colleges and to handle their problems. They are to deal with only undergraduate studies. And certain administrative and academic functions of the Academic and Executive Councils are to be delegated to them.

The teachers, however, fear that the statute is like an iceberg, concealing more than it reveals. As the memorandum of the Delhi University Teachers' Association recently submitted to the Prime Minister put it, "The provision would lead to separation of undergraduate education from post-graduate, thereby destroying the federal character. of Delhi University". 

The teachers admit that the College Councils by themselves do not amount to immediate de federalisation, but they nevertheless insist that the measure could be the beginning of a new. process that might culminate in the clusters of colleges under their respective College Councils growing into undergraduate universities. The college teachers, then, might not be allowed to take post-graduate classes or associate in any other way in 'co-operative teaching".

Federal Character : A myth

However, the crucial problem does not appear to be of co-operative teaching at the postgraduate level, as there already exists a delinking in the University for all practical purposes. Thus there are at present as many as three professors and eight readers in the English department, and substantially the same is true of other departments too. Where is the scope for 'co-operative teaching in such a situation? 

Senior deans, in fact, argue that the federal character is a myth which had better be exploded. "How can a University whose constituent colleges are far-flung some situated at a distance of over 10 miles from the campus remain federal?", it is asked. Students or even teachers of many outlying colleges are seldom able to visit the campus.

Then, for what are the teachers fighting? In simple terms, the issue reduces itself to parity of payscales. The current proposal, according to the teachers, further endangers their security of service and involves loss of status of the University teacher. Their fear is that, in due course, they may be 'downgraded with pay-scales lower than those of university-appointed' teachers. 

This explains the united front put up by the very diverse elements in the Action Committee of the teachers in the agitation. The 'united front' spans 'right reactionaries' like Jan Sangh and 'left revolutionaries' like CPM -- a fact which explains why DUTA has left the basic question of democratic rights in the lurch. 

The basic question, however, remains that of denial of democracy. The College Councils are thoroughly undemocratic in their composition. There is no student and non-teaching staff representation; and only five teachers are to be there, on rotation. 

The Ordinance also divides, in an unscientific manner, the professional and the non-professional colleges, making the former autono- mous. The already heavily bureaucratised professional colleges are likely to become much more so, with all the powers concentrated in one man -- the principal or the director once these colleges become autonomous. 

Another distressing aspect of the Ordinance is degradation of the University Court from a supreme decision-making body to a mere deliberative body. All powers would thus be vested in the Executive Council, which does not have a single teachers' representative; practically all the members of the Executive Council owe their existence to the VC. 

What it boils down to, therefore, is that the VC would have the absolute power to govern the University or to make any structural changes therein.

But the Government would not stop here. The Minister of Education has already announced that a bill on the lines of the Aligarh University Bill would be introduced for other Central universities, too. 

It has become pretty clear by now that the AMU Bill was far from democratic. The principle of election has been replaced by that of rotation for teachers representation on the Academic Council. This would make this legislative body irrelevant so far the teachers as are concerned. 

Moreover, the university authorities would lay down the constitution of the teachers' association. Perhaps for the first time in India, an employer is going to lay down powers and functions of a trade union body! 

The present authoritarian structure of Delhi University, coupled with the undemocratic composition of the College Councils and the proposed bill, would lead to the emergence of a power monolith in the University.

A Movement Divided

A movement, purely economic in nature and having no politics involved, is very easy to destroy. The Delhi University V C, Sarup Singh, evidently knows this. At first, the VC who happens to be one of the founder members of the Delhi University Teachers Association made out that he would risk his own career for the sake of the teachers and declared that "as one who has taught in Delhi University for over 30 years, I would like to solve the problems through direct consultation with my colleagues". 

Some of the correspondents of the local 'Leftist' Press tried to read in this clear confrontation emerging between the 'radical' VC and the not-so-radical Education Minister. However, within 10 days, the progressive VC had called an 'exclusive meeting of some of the 'senior' teachers. Therein an 'informal committee' was formed to persuade the DUTA to give up its demand!

Thanks to such officiency, the movement is now divided and on the verge of collapse. On August 20, following the failure of the DUTA Action Committee's talks with the Minister of State for Parliament Affairs, Om Mehta, DUTA gave a call for a University bandh on August 22. The unions of non teaching staff and students expressed full support to the teachers' proposed bandh. 

But in a midnight meeting on August 21, the bandh decision was reversed. The leadership was in favour of calling off the bandh in view of the fact that "the consideration of the DU (Amendment) Bill in the Rajya Sabha had been postponed by a week"!

 On the other hand, several members of the 12-member Action Committee criticised the decision on the grounds that it would weaken the movement. The Delhi University and College Karmachari Union and the Varsity Students Union also did not favour calling it off at such a short notice. 

Next morning, a section of teachers described the move as a volte face by the DUTA President, Kumaresh Chakravarty. Subsequently, the DUTA also lost the support of the Students Union President, Bhagwan Singh. 

The movement, to the liking of the authorities, remains disrupted, divided, and without the strength of the teachers' unity which was earlier witnessed for the first time in the 50-year history of the University.

The DUTA Action Committee, which had declared earlier that "teachers would not enter into any negotiation with the VC unless he withdrew College Councils", now sits for daily round-table discussions with not only the VC but also the Chairmen of the controversial College Councils, in "an atmosphere marked by cordiality"! 

Meanwhile, reports have it that the Bill might be passed by Parliament with a few amendments.

But the gurus have no need to worry. The Government does not seem terribly keen to touch the pockets of intelligentsia provided they accept the denial of democratic rights and acquiesce to the status quo.

ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL WEEKLY 

September 2, 1972