Move to relax norms for contractual teachers at MDU raises eyebrows

Sunit Dhawan
Tribune News Service
Rohtak, March 4

The decision enabling contractual teachers/resource persons to pursue PhD coursework along with their job taken at a recent meeting of the executive council of Maharshi Dayanand University (MDU) with retrospective effect has raised eyebrows.

While the university assert the move is meant to benefit all resource persons/assistant professors employed on contract basis, sources say the decision has been taken retrospectively to benefit specific candidate(s).

“The decision has come at a time when the registration process for PhD is over and the resource persons who did not apply for registration have lost the opportunity due to the previous rule denying them no-objection certificate,” said a senior faculty member.

As per the previous rule, the resource persons could not get the NOC for pursuing PhD and his/her engagement with the university would be terminated automatically on registration for PhD.

MDU Registrar Gulshan Taneja said the decision was meant to benefit all resource persons on contract and not any specific candidate.

Questioned about the opportunity missed by the resource persons who did not apply for registration in PhD due to the rule prevailing at that time, the he said they could have sought permission from the university authorities.