Adhocism is a major issue in Delhi University

New Delhi: In 2014, Pankaj joined University of Delhi as an ad hoc faculty thinking that very soon, he will get permanent appointment in one of the most reputed universities of the country. Nine years down the line, he is still working as a lecturer on an ad hoc basis in the university. “When I joined the university, I thought that soon, I will become a permanent faculty and do wonders in academia, but my every hope had been dashed due to the ad hoc system in the university; moreover, I am working on the entry level salary of any permanent teacher without any perks or increment,” said Pankaj Sarma, who teaches political science. The story of Pankaj is not an isolated case; more than 4,500 lecturers are working under the University of Delhi on an ad hoc basis, many of them for more than 10 years. The service conditions of ad hoc faculty members are completely contrary to the permanent teachers. While permanent teachers enjoy full salaries and benefits as per the University Grant Commission (UGC) guidelines, the salary of ad hoc teachers are fixed and they are not entitled to many kinds of allowances either and their salaries remain the same for years. “We are entitled to only six to 12 casual and earned leave in a year, if we need more, we have to go for unpaid leave,” said another ad hoc teacher. “In the last 10 years, the recruitment against permanent posts in the University has been very low. For a small university, 200-300 appointments may be a big number, but in case of University of Delhi, it is nothing,” said Rajiv Ray, former president of Delhi University Teachers Association (DUTA), one of the largest bodies of teachers which has been at the forefront of the agitation demanding absorption of faculty members who have been working on ad hoc basis in the university. The last major permanent appointments happened in academic year 2015-16, when more than 600 permanent posts were filed against 5,000 vacancies.