Scores of Delhi University teachers today staged a day-long hunger strike outside the Vice Chancellor''s office in support of ad-hoc employees'' demand for permanent jobs and pay parity.

"The ad-hoc and temporary teachers routinely face a lot of discrimination in their professional lives. In many colleges, unlike the permanent staff, they have to teach more classes moving well beyond the 16-periods-per-week UGC norms.

"They are also allotted more examination duties than their permanent counterparts. This form of slavery is reinforced every four months at the time of their rejoining and very often they are humiliated by the college staff because of their ad-hoc status. Fearing for their job security, most of them are unable to voice their resistance," said Nandita Narain, President of Delhi University Teachers'' Association (DUTA).

The teachers also stressed the need for reworking the roster of the university and its colleges according to the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) rules.