Democratic United Teachers Alliance to take on RSS-affiliated union in Delhi University polls
The Delhi University Teachers Association (DUTA) elections are scheduled to be held on September 27.
Taking cue from the alliance formed by several opposition parties to take on BJP in next year’s general elections, several teachers' organisations at Delhi University have joined forces to challenge the National Democratic Teachers Front, which is backed by the BJP-RSS.
The Delhi University Teachers Association (DUTA) elections are scheduled to be held on September 27, with around 10,000 academics set to cast their votes.
Ahead of the September polls, an alliance of several teachers’ associations was announced on Saturday.
The Democratic United Teachers Alliance, a coalition of multiple groups including Congress's Indian National Teachers' Congress, AAP's Academic for Action and Development Teachers Association, the Left-leaning Democratic Teachers' Front, and several independent teachers' associations such as the Common Teachers' Front, Delhi Teachers' Initiative, Independent Teachers' Front for Social Justice, and Samajwadi Shikshank Manch, has come together with a common purpose.
The Democratic United Teachers' Alliance has nominated Dr. Aditya Narayan Misra as their joint candidate for the position of DUTA President.
In a statement, the teachers’ alliance said, “We are here together to safeguard the dignity and security of all teachers. We are here to defend full public funding and build public opinion against the privatisation and other sinister designs of NEP, 2020. We are committed to absorption of all existing ad hoc and temporary teachers and reinstatement of those who have been displaced during the last two years, while protecting the services of those who have already secured permanent appointment.”
“We will pursue the demand for restoration of the Old Pension Scheme (OPS). We will also fight for counting of past services at every stage of promotion and professorship for associate professors who have been left out. We will have to ensure timely and full payment of salaries and pensions which has suffered in the recent past due to cuts in budgetary allocation by the central government”, it read.
In the previous election, a candidate from the BJP-RSS affiliated National Democratic Teachers Front (NDTF) was elected as the DUTA president after a 24-year hiatus. AK Bhagi emerged victorious, defeating his closest contender, Abha Dev Habib of the Democratic Teachers' Front, by a margin of 1,382 votes.
