new delhi rejecting ministry of human resource developments response on the issue of amendments to the university grants commissions regulations 2010 which were notified through the gazette on may 10 2016 the delhi university teachers association termed it as evasive and misleadingthere will be no increase in the workload of teachers after the amendments in comparison with the workload prescribed earlier a ministry statement issued on thursday evening saidugc guidelines notified earlier this month had sparked protests by teachers association as they increased teaching work hours by two hours for each category prescribing that an assistant professor teach 18 hours a week instead pf 16 hours an associate professors teaching requirement was increased from 14 to 16 hours with the ministrys intervention today the direct teachinglearning hours for teachers will once again revert to the older format assistant professors 16 hours and associate professorsprofessors 14 hours the hrd ministry said in a statement that it has issued a direction to the ugc under section 201 of the ugc act 1956 to undertake amendments in the regulation ugc minimum qualifications for appointment of teachers and other academic staff in universities and colleges and measures for the maintenance of standards in higher education regulations 2010 teachers were required to allocate 6 additional hours per week beyond the direct teachinglearning hours on research these hours can now be also utilized for tutorialsremedial classesseminarsadministrative responsibilities innovation and updating of course contents the ministry addedduta expressed its dismay at mhrds response and stated that the ministry discloses the fact that these amendments are based on the recommendations of the nigavekar committee the nigavekar committees notoriety is widespread in the teaching community as the committee refused to have any consultation with or register the concerns of teachers bodies like aifucto fedcuta and the dutaclaiming that the mhrd has hastily put a stamp of approval on the committees unilateral exercise of modifying the apis the teachers body stated that by excluding tutorials from direct teaching hours the amendments have in one fell blow destroyed the only system of smallgroup interactions between students and teachers the system of tutorials has been integral to the practice of mentoring and catering to the individual learning needs and challenges of studentsit also stated that science teaching will take a hit due to devaluing of practical and laboratory trainingthe teachers into their third day of evaluation boycott alleged that by recommending a lecturecentric teaching load for api targets the amendments have insidiously provided a basis for a quantum reduction in workload a step which endangers the jobprospects of 50 of the existing faculty in duduta statement also said that the ministry has deliberately concealed the fact that this notification was accompanied by the ugcs express instructions to college principals that the second tranche of teaching posts sanctioned under the obc expansion scheme were being withheld indefinitely the duta sees this underhand move as further indication of the mhrds intention to downsize faculty without any regard to the quality of education