MANIFESTO FOR THE POST OF GENERAL SECRETARY/EXECUTIVE MEMBER, KUTA, 2015

At the very outset I would like to thank the Returning Officer, KUTA elections, 2015, Prof. Mohammad Ayub for organizing this manifesto meet. I consider this a very prudent step aimed at giving the contestants for four main positions an opportunity to apprise members of this august body about their policies, programmes and plan of action. Our individual stand on various issues confronting the teaching community must always remain supreme to our personal rapport and relationships while we go for voting.  Sincerity of intent and sincerity of purpose is the most important trait that one must possess while seeking support.

Dear Colleagues, there is a considerable overlap in the issues highlighted by previous speakers since our issues will remain the same while our priorities may vary. While I fully support and endorse the stand taken by other contestants with regards issues concerning autonomy and freedom of this institution as a whole, viability and credibility of KUTA as an effective and vibrant association, issues concerning senior faculty and female faculty of the university like increase in the age of superannuation to 65, grant of post-retirement benefits like senior citizenship to the faculty, creation of women’s grievance cells, girls common rooms with washroom facilities in every department, equitable allocation of residential quarters, I strongly believe that it is the junior cadre that is suffering the most. Many of our junior colleagues are putting up a smile on their faces but are sulking and simmering with discontent deep inside due to stagnation. We need to address their issues on priority.

I have emailed an article of mine entitled, “half-baked regulations of UGC” to most of my colleagues in this university, in which I have made my stand clear vis-à-vis issues concerning UGC regulations of 2010, their second amendment, API score based performance assessment and its capping provision, use of impact factors for the quantitative assessment of teachers’ performance, salary packages and service length of university teachers etc. While we need to fight for their streamlining at the central level by joining hands with central associations like FEDCUTA, AIFUCTO etc, we need to address our local issues with a greater thrust. I believe UGC has already framed a committee to look into these issues and to suggest improvements in the same, there is every likelihood that API score may be scrapped in near future and assessment of teachers’ performance may be left to the discretion of individual Universities.

Under such circumstances we need to have a strong and vibrant KUTA that will make concerted efforts through sustained lobbying, persistent advocacy and logical interventions to settle things in the best interests of teachers as well as students. Misinterpretation of statutes at the local level has been a grave concern so far. We have witnessed how a large number of our colleagues suffered on account of misinterpretation of statues regarding counting of Ph.D teaching experience period while applying for the posts of Associate Professors. After three years of frustrating struggle the issue was resolved. Now it is the turn of capping of API scores which is being misinterpreted again. I alongwith some other colleagues apprised the university authorities outside KUTA about such misinterpretation way back in 2013 but nothing seems to have changed since then. Even today percent capping of API scores in various sub-categories of Category III of PBAS is being calculated with respect to the minimum score required for that post while it is abundantly clear from the second amendment document that percentage capping has to be calculated with respect to the cumulative or the total API score claimed by the candidate for all the sub-categories clubbed together. Thus it is not necessary to have a mandatory, minimum API score out of each sub-category like research papers, books, projects, conferences and research guidance as is evident from the second amendment document.

Friends I want to ask you all. Are we all so naïve and gullible to fall in the same ditch twice. Should we allow ourselves to undergo the same agony and traumatic experience of countless clarifications and counter-clarifications in this case again as we went through earlier or should we outrightly reject any such misinterpretation without allowing our careers to suffer on this account? Many teachers including me suffered irreversibly because their active teaching period while they were undergoing Ph.D. was not counted as teaching experience even though UGC clarification later made it amply clear that such period should have been counted. I don’t want my other colleagues to suffer on such account. That is my personal agenda for contesting this election which some of us are quite eager to know. But I can assure you that while I have this personal agenda, I have no hidden agenda whatsoever. 

I strongly believe that students must always remain at the core of our activities and endeavours. We owe a lot to our society too. We shouldn't give an impression at any point of time that we are against any kind of criteria based assessment of our performance or any kind of accountability measures. We must always welcome good things and not oppose for the heck of it. We must keep ourselves open to scrutiny provided the quantitative measures used to assess our performance are flexible, rational and just rather than rigid, harsh and impractical. 

My agenda is crystal clear. Let the teachers of this university not suffer on account of any clerical hassles, red tapism, misinterpretation and selective application of rules, regulations and statutes.  I won’t promise sky and moon, I would like to be practical. Let us change whatever is in our domain and whatever we can. With these words I request you all to vote and support my candidature for the post of General Secretary and Executive Member of KUTA. I pledge to dedicate myself to the cause of teaching community and do whatever I can to restore the dignity, legitimate rights and a free, fearless and honorable working environment for the teaching community of this University. The chaos, confusion, uncertainty of our future, fear of stagnation, frustration of becoming a victim of hegemony must not haunt us. We must be able to live and work freely and enjoy our work without any insecurities and uncertainties. It is only then that we can excel. I shall be looking forward to your vote and kind support in this noble endeavor.