NEW DELHI: Over 400 English language teachers of the University of Delhi on Tuesday made an appeal to the president of the Delhi University Teachers Association (DUTA), asking him to take action on the unprecedented loss of workload that English departments will suffer owing to the Undergraduate Curriculum Framework (UGCF). The new framework will be implemented from the academic year 2022-23.
Claiming that the proposed structures of UGCF will single out English departments for a massive reduction, almost in the range of one-third of its existing workload, and will further lead to a loss of livelihood for the hundreds of ad-hoc teachers, an appeal to intervene and restore the workload of the English Departments was made to Professor A K Baghi.
Further, the removal of English from Ability Enhancement Compulsory Courses or AEC is also part of the new framework. Mithuraaj Dhusiya, member, academic council, said, “Removal of English from AECC under UGCF will lead to large numbers of existing ad-hoc teachers without workload which in turn will lead to job loss. Denial of AECC English to students will lead to depriving students of quality English education which in turn will negatively impact their academic and professional growth.”
Meanwhile, Rudrashish Chakraborty, Associate Professor, Kirori Mal College, said, “Unfortunately, the University of Delhi has removed English language as a course from two segments: the compulsory AECC course taught to every UG student and the compulsory English core papers in BA/BCom programmes. As a result, most colleges are about to lose at least one-third of their workload if not more in the upcoming semester if these courses are not restored.”
On colleges solely offering AECC, the associate professor said the condition is worse in colleges not offering honours and programme courses as they solely offered AECC, which may now be taken away, rendering even permanent teachers almost redundant.
“The above step of removing the English courses will amount to massive retrenchment of ad-hoc teachers teaching English across the University. It is indeed a travesty of justice that after giving so many years to this University, the ad-hoc teachers of the English department face a situation of job loss owing to an irrational academic restructuring done by the University. In the centenary year of the DU, one of its flagship departments has been singled out for victimisation as its jobs will be culled. This is also patently anti-student as they will be denied any choice of language, in violation of the spirit and ethos of NEP which claims to be offering multiple choices to students.”
Colleges without honours may be hit
The teachers have highlighted that the most devastating impact of the removal of compulsory English courses on workload has been felt in colleges which do not offer Honours or Programme courses in English