Delhi University teachers call one day strike over CDOE professor’s termination

The Delhi University Teachers’ Association (DUTA) has called for a one-day strike in the university on November 3, 2026, to protest the termination of an assistant professor position at the Center for Distance and Online Education (CDOE), formerly the School of Open Learning (SOL). The association has declared that academic activities will be suspended during the shutdown.

The decision was taken in an emergency meeting of the DUTA executive on November 2 and members had unanimously supported the strike, Hindustan Times (HT) mentioned. The association has declared the teacher’s termination to be unfair and has asked for the revocation of the dismissal order.

The protest comes in the wake of an office order issued on October 30, in which CDOE terminated Dr Saripali V Ravikiran, assistant professor in the Department of Political Science, for his performance during the extended probation period.

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DUTA wants Dr Saripali V Ravikiran to be reinstated

In its X post announcing the strike, DUTA called for a “total shut down” and demanded that the university “reinstate the teacher immediately”. The association also called on the academic community to “defend teachers’ rights and job security” and to reject arbitrary dismissals.

DUTA president V S Negi said the association did not accept the termination of a teacher’s services, HT reports. Negi also added “the strike was an immediate measure, while further talks with the administration will start from tomorrow to seek the revocation of the order”.

DUTA treasurer Akanksha Khurana told HT that the association had approached the administration on the day the termination order was issued but had not received any response. DUTA will approach the vice-chancellor after the strike for his intervention. HT mentioned that DUTA has not received any response from DDOE director Ajay Jaiswal on the ‘raising concerns over the impact on the teacher’s livelihood”.