DU: Failing Health, Brisk Pensions, and No Medical Funds, Pensioners of Delhi Government Colleges Fight All at Once

MS Rajeswari, in her sixties, is in a fix in search of options for treatment if she gets infected with the coronavirus. Rajeswari, who taught Botany in Delhi University’s Acharya Narendra Dev College, retired in March 2021 and depends solely on her pensions. The funds crisis in 12 colleges of Delhi University funded by the Delhi government is hitting senior citizens severely in the midst of the pandemic, with some resorting to encashing the fixed deposits as the last option to run the households.

Talking to NewsClick over the phone, Rajeswari said that she could not get her retirement benefits in time as college released the amounts in several instalments till December last year.

”I do not know what will happen if I am infected with the coronavirus. I get my pension once in three months, and that’s not even complete. When college teachers get their salaries partly for three months, I receive one full pension. I own my house. So, I do not have to pay rent. But think about couples who both teach in Delhi government-funded colleges and do not get their salaries. I did not want to think about my fixed deposits, but we have no option left. These deposits work as social security for us. Gradually, we are losing it all thanks to this crisis.”

Twelve Delhi University colleges have been locking horns with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government over funds for the previous two years. While the colleges maintain that they have to be fully funded by the Delhi government to pay the salaries, retirement and medical benefits to their employees and cutting the funds is linked with the introduction of self-financing courses, the Delhi government emphasised that it was required to pay colleges only in part and rest of the money was to be arranged by colleges only. NewsClick, in its earlier reports, highlighted that crisis had forced employees to delay their surgeries even when they needed immediate attention. Some employees are taking loans at exorbitant rates to manage their households.

The 12 Delhi University colleges fully funded by the Delhi government are Indira Gandhi Institute of Physical Education & Sports Science, Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies, Shaheed Raj Guru College, Deen Dayal Upadhyaya College, Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar College, Acharya Narendra Dev College, Bhagini Nivedita College, Keshav Maha Vidyalaya, Maharaja Agrasen College, Aditi Mahavidyalaya, Maharishi Balmiki College of Education and Bhaskara Charya College of Applied Science.

Shekhar Kumar, a teacher of Hindi who retired from Maharaja Agrasen College, told NewsClick that he still did not get his retirement benefits such as gratuity, paid leave encashment even after two years.

”I did not get my benefits even after two years and will not get any interest on it. I am still paying instalments for my home even when my income has literally stopped. I am also awaiting reimbursement for my medical bills as I was sick for a few days. The college and staff are supporting us wholeheartedly, but we still need these funds desperately.”

After several protests, Delhi University Teachers’ Association (DUTA) is holding an online protest on Thursday where teachers are boycotting their work in the absence of non-payment of salaries. Abha Dev Habib, a former Executive Council member, Delhi University, who teaches Physics at Miranda House College, told NewsClick that as DUTA Office Bearers, they are appearing before the Court for holding protests during the pandemic. She maintains that the government should be held responsible for creating a situation because of which they were forced to protest despite health risks.

Talking to NewsClick over the phone, Habib, also secretary, Democratic Teachers’ Front, said, ”It is extremely unfortunate and beyond any reason that the Delhi government has chosen to send reduced grants as a result of which salaries remain pending for months. Further, there are delays in the release of grants every quarter. The result of this mess is that employees go without salaries and pensions for months altogether. For salaried employees, this becomes extremely difficult - they are pushed constantly to take loans from family and friends, use up all their savings and are unable to pay EMIs - becoming defaulters and paying penalties. The worst-hit are employees working on an ad-hoc and contract basis- many of whom lack the ecosystem to support them. Pensioners and those facing health crises are other sections that are badly hit. Teachers and non-teaching staff have been pushed into depression. We are witnessing the systematic destruction of the 12 DU colleges.”

She added, ”This is a solvable issue. Delhi government needs to sanction posts for new courses, wherever sanctions are yet required. A government that promised 20 new colleges to the people of Delhi can most certainly resolve this issue by sanctioning posts against new courses and EWS expansion. No circumstances warrant stopping salaries. Also, the nature of these colleges as public-funded institutions has to be preserved, and we are opposed to using students' fees to supplement the gap in the grants and expenditure.”

DUTA President AK Bhagi believes that the Delhi government is misinterpreting the rules of funding and the real intention is to push college towards self-financing mode. Talking to NewsClick over the phone, he said that the funding of the colleges, either UGC or Delhi government, have been on the same lines.

”The colleges are run from 1987, and they did not face any problem when Delhi was under Congress or Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) regimes. The memorandum of understanding signed between the colleges and the Delhi government has been similar to UGC-funded colleges and universities. First, the Delhi government flagged the issue of the misappropriation of funds. They conducted audits of the colleges, and auditors did not find anything inconsistent. Then, they raised the issue of chairpersons of the governing bodies. That issue was also resolved. Yet, they are holding funds and depriving employees of their salaries.”