The pandemic has reflected the plight of the workers. The issue of salary cuts, low pages and widespread unemployment has hit several sectors of the Indian market. Many people have lost their jobs and are unable to pay the fees of their children. As the parents are unable to pay the fees of their wards, this has resulted in the dropouts. Many children have left the schools that have given rise to child labour, child exploitation and child marriages. There are certain instances of colleges unable to pay the wages of the teachers. The teachers and staff of Delhi University (DU) protested against the Delhi Government for not being able to pay the salaries of the teachers for the past few months.
Due to the outbreak of Coronavirus or COVID-19, many staffs and teachers have started work-from-home (WFH). The lecturers and staffs protested on 5th Of September, 2020, as they haven’t got paid for the past 5 months. The lecturers protested in the office and entered the premises, chanting slogans against the administration in the Council Hall of the offices. The teachers and the staffs raised their voices against the north campus. As the protests took place on the streets, several teachers were arrested and faced detention on the Teachers’ Day.
There were several complaints and reason for the outbreak of the protest. Many teachers and staffs are unable to pay the fees of their children in schools and tuitions. They are facing a financial crunch in the time of the pandemic. Some are not being able to provide their daily needs to the families. Several professors protested against the Delhi government. Many union parties joined the protest in the pandemic to raise their voices against the nonpayment of the salaries in the pandemic. The Teachers’ Union, along with, the Delhi University Teachers’ Association (DUTA) faced detention for joining the protest against the government. The Executive Council of Delhi University, Rajesh Jha expressed his disgust towards the Delhi government for not being able to pay the full-scale salaries of the teachers. He mentioned his dissatisfaction towards the government. Another Assistant Professor of Acharya Narendra Dev College, Shalu Mahajan joined in the protest. She made Dharna at the Delhi University and later on arrested and faced detention for her act. She talked about being denied from the basic survival rights and human rights as the teachers and staffs are not getting paid off for their hard work in the pandemic. The staffs and teachers of Delhi University (DU) observed 5th Of September as ‘Black teachers’ Day’. The Teachers’ Union and the Delhi University Teachers’ Association (DUTA) protested for the delay in grants of the 12 colleges of Delhi University (DU). The government is not being able to pay the salaries of over 1000 teachers along with the wages of more than 500 non-teaching staffs of the Delhi University (DU) since April-May.
The pandemic situation has reflected the financial crisis. The arrival of the COVID-19 has affected the education sector. Many people are not being able to help their families and are unable to pay the school fees for the children. It has been stated that the government is having some disagreement with the Delhi University (DU) over the formation of the government bodies of the 28 colleges including 12 institutions. The state government is constantly keeping an eye on the accounts of colleges due to the accusation of financial irregularities.
On Saturday, 5th Of September, more than 100 of the teachers had faced detention. They were taken to Maurice Nagar Police Station. The cops claimed that the teachers were not permitted to protest. The Delhi University Teachers’ Association (DUTA) has threatened to boycott the classes. The cold war between the management, university of college and the government forced the teachers to protest on the streets. The teachers feel discouraged to continue the classes. The University Grant Commission (UGC) decided to celebrate teachers’ day online. The Union Education Ministry and the University Grant Commission (UGC) organized program to honour the retired and the current teachers of the university. The member of the Executive Council, Rajesh Jha said that although the central government and the state government are collaborating to celebrate the Teachers’ Day, they are not allowing to teachers to speak out against the injustice towards them.
Several retired professors of Delhi University (DU) have not received their pension and joined in the protests. Even though the government had notified the increment of pension, the university is not processing further. Many retired teachers have died without pensions. There are more than 500 teachers who are not being able to move from the Contributory Provident Fund (CPF) to General Provident Fund (GPF).
The Vice-Chancellor of Delhi University, Yogesh Tyagi gave no explicit response. Similarly, the Education Secretary of Delhi, H Rajesh Prasad gave no answers to such demands and protest. The Education Minister of Delhi, Manish Sisodia went unanswered.
