Latest news with #Dhusiya
New Indian Express
13-07-2025
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Delhi University fee hike with emergency powers of VC draws flak
NEW DELHI: In the Executive Council (EC) meeting held on Saturday, members voiced objections to fee hikes across several academic programmes, criticising the use of emergency powers by the vice-chancellor to implement such decisions without adequate discussion. A supplementary agenda item revealed steep fee hike for the academic year 2025–26 across programmes like MA (Bengali/MIL/Tamil/CIL), PhD, Integrated Law, and Faculty of Education. For instance, the MA programme has seen a hike along with additional charges under the University Development Fund and EWS Support categories. The Integrated Law Programme fee has reached `60,870 for 2025–26. Dr Mithuraaj Dhusiya, an EC member, expressed concern over the unilateral implementation of these hikes using emergency powers, bypassing consultation with the Council. 'Students and faculty remain unaware of the rationale behind these increases,' he said, adding that there was no adequate discussion of the impact, particularly with the growing number of self-financing courses. He warned such fee increases threaten the public-funded nature of the university. The Executive Council members raised concerns about the use of emergency powers by the V-C. In his dissent, Dr Dhusiya pointed out that crucial policy matters, particularly those concerning recruitment and the scheme of examination for non-teaching staff, had been decided without prior discussions, bypassing the Executive Council's involvement. The agenda item in question focused on decisions taken by the V-C on recruitment rules and the exam scheme for non-teaching staff, which were notified in May 2025. Dr Dhusiya argued that these changes, which impacted over 5,000 employees, should have been discussed and approved by the Council.
New Indian Express
08-07-2025
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Delhi University faculty slams periodic review, retirement policy
NEW DELHI: Senior faculty members at Delhi University have voiced strong opposition to a proposed policy mandating periodic review and compulsory retirement of university employees, arguing that it undermines the institution's autonomy and targets senior staff unfairly. At a meeting held on Monday by a committee constituted by DU's Executive Council (EC), Dr Mithuraaj Dhusiya submitted a detailed note challenging the applicability of the Department of Personnel and Training's (DoPT) Office Memorandum dated June 27, 2024. Dhusiya contended that the policy has no legal basis in Central Universities like DU, which operate under UGC-approved ordinances. Citing the Allahabad High Court's ruling in Dr Suchitra Mitra vs Union of India, he emphasised that professors at central universities are not government servants and do not hold civil posts under the Union, making the Central Civil Services (CCS) rules inapplicable. 'The Professors of the University are neither members of a service nor do they hold a civil post under the Union,' the court had ruled, reaffirming that such rules do not apply to central universities. He also referred to a 2018 statement by former HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar, clarifying that universities with their own ordinances are not obligated to adopt CCS rules. Raising concerns over the policy's intent, Dhusiya argued that it disproportionately targets employees above 50 years of age while sparing junior staff. Terming it 'arbitrary' and a 'witch-hunt,' he accused the administration of attempting to replace permanent staff with temporary or contractual hires. 'This notification is an unmitigated disaster,' he wrote, adding that it threatens to institutionalize contractual employment across the board. The committee is yet to take a final call, with the next round of discussions scheduled for July 10.
