Dr Aditya Narain Misra is a former president of DUTA & Federation of Central Universities Teachers Association and is contesting for the post of DUTA President for the fourth time. Speaking to Ifrah Mufti, he explained his priorities and failures of the previous DUTA leadership. Excerpts: What all are the priority issues to be taken up if the Democratic Teachers Union alliance comes to power?
Our first priority will be to ensure that the New Education Policy which has brought privatization to the University be withdrawn. It has been passed by the Academic Council and even the executive council. We will fight against it. Secondly, we will ensure that displacements are stopped. People having 14, 15 and 22 years of experience are being displaced despite vacancies.
What is the common agenda of these ten organizations that have made an alliance for the DUTA Elections?
There was no single agenda but we as a team agreed to almost all of our key issues concerning the Varsity. We had started with the displacement issue and we all were concerned about it. We had also agreed on fighting against the Old Pension Scheme where the retired teachers are getting just `13-14,000 as pensions which is not sufficient.
When the NDTF was in power in DUTA, did it do justice to the Varsity?
Unfortunately, the NDTF never did any justice to the Varsity. Justice to the University is a big question mark. They welcomed the New Education Policy without resistance. No massive action programme was taken. They never sought any feedback from the teachers in that regard. The former DUTA leaders were all mute spectators. They were the architects of the whole displacement policy.
