450 Delhi University English teachers appeal DUTA president for workload restoration

With the removal of English as an option in AEC, English departments across the University are staring at a drastic reduction in workload.

Over 450 English teachers of Delhi University have signed a petition urging the DUTA President to intervene and restore the workload of English teachers in UGCF implemented in DU from the next semester.
A large number of teachers working in the English Department of Delhi University are working on an Ad-hoc basis and with the change in rules, they are of the view that hundreds of them will be losing their jobs across the University.

In their letter to Delhi University Teachers’ Association (DUTA) President Prof A K Bhagi they have appealed to him to take action on the loss of workload that English departments will suffer owing to the Undergraduate Curriculum Framework (UGCF) to be implemented from the academic year 2022–23.

“We note with alarm, that the proposed structures of UGCF, single out the English department in particular for a massive reduction, almost in the range of one-third of its existing workload. This will lead to a loss of livelihood for the hundreds of ad-hoc teachers teaching for years, in the English departments across the University of Delhi,” the letter reads.

The UGCF structure says that AEC courses are offered only in the languages included in VIII Schedule: and that does not include English. As per the signatory teachers, this replaces the existing CBCS structure where English and Hindi/MIL are both offered as options for students in AECC, enabling students to exercise their choice of language according to their proficiency.

With the removal of English as an option in AEC, English departments across the University are staring at a drastic reduction in workload.

The letter states that colleges like Kirori Mal and Ramjas have lost 60+ lectures while Hansraj, Shaheed Bhagat Singh (M) and others have lost more than 50 lectures next semester. Hence this decision threatens the livelihood of all the ad-hoc teachers working in the English departments across the University.

Removal of Core English Courses from BA/B.Com Programmes

The UGCF structure of the BA/B.Com Programme has removed the Core papers of English language offered in the first 4 semesters of the existing CBCS courses. Moreover, the compulsory English language courses that are offered at three levels, namely, A, B and C, depending on their proficiency level are now being removed from the UGCF - thus reducing the workload of the English department. Denial of Option to Students

The letter to DUTA President states that the proposed UGCF structure does not take into account the reality of school education where students study English till Class XII as a compulsory language across the country, as against the option of any other language in their Class XII exam. This is particularly true of students coming from Science and Commerce streams in Class XII where they have studied English as the only compulsory language in National School Boards like CBSE and ISC.

“Hence not allowing students to opt for English even as an option in AEC is a violation of their academic choice and also unfair to their learning abilities,” it states.

It reads: “Hence it is our earnest appeal to you to intervene urgently and ensure that English as an AEC course and also as a Core Language course in BA and B.Com Programme courses remains intact. This will protect the existing workload of English departments, while also crucially safeguarding the livelihood of hundreds of ad-hoc teachers working in English departments across the University. Let us not forget that despite giving their best years to the profession in this University, the ad-hoc teachers are currently battling the pressures of uncertainty and are at the receiving end of the damages that these academic changes portend.”