With the DU administration and the Delhi University Teachers' Association (DUTA) at loggerheads over the semester system, varsity teachers are treading a tightrope between their professional and associational obligation.

While heeding the DUTA call for dissociating themselves from this year's admissions, some teachers are also offering behind-the-scenes help to propsective students.

A temporary (ad-hoc) teacher at LSR college, who has been involved in the admission process closely, said that the DUTA call has not been heeded in a uniform way by all colleges.

“Staff members who began work in the admissions committee before the DUTA call came, have carried on working," she told Governance Now.

Another teacher at Jesus and Mary college (JMC), on the condition of anonymity, said that students do face some problem but teachers are guiding them in the best possible way.

"We are not working at the forefront but we do help students in filling the applications and we make sure that they are at ease," she added.

The DUTA on Tuesday had again appealed to teachers for peaceful dissociation from the admission process and asked not to disrupt the process, in response to Delhi High Court order. But many teachers have continued with their work.

Dr. Minauti Chatterjee, principal of Kamla Nehru college, admits that there was a Plan B for the college and suspects the other colleges also had theirs.

“The formalities are being taken care of by the non-academic staff. However, the teachers are very much involved in an informal manner, interacting with and counseling the prospective students," she said. But the DUTA protests could hurt students' interests with the absence of formal counselling as the administrative staff concern themselves mostly with the procedural part of the admissions.Other college offcials at KMC said that as the bulk of admissions work is carried out by the non-teaching staff the teacher's withdrawal from the process has not made much difference.

TheJMC teacher denied that colleges have continued with last year’s cut-off lists.

"Every year the cut off trend differs. So we just can not depend on last year's cut off," she said.

This is quite evident from the fact that cut offs this year in many colleges are up by 2-5 percent in different courses. In Kirorimal College, the cut off for admission in B.Com (Hons) is 95.5 percentage as compared to 91 percent last year. At LSR, the cut off for admission in Eco (Hons) is 95.25 percent, which is three percent more than last years. For studying Eco (Hons) in Miranda college, the minimum percentage required last year was 84 but this year it is 93.

Ratan Lal, a lecturer in Hindu college, agreed that majority of teachers have disassociated themselves from the procedure but some teachers continued with their job and the cut-offs were prepared with their help.

The DUTA has been protesting the manner in which semester system has been implemented in the science courses by the vice-chancellor, Professor Deepak Pental. DUTA says that it is violation of the university’s Acts and Ordinances. To show its dissatisfaction, the DUTA last month had issued a statement to teachers asking them to dissociate from the admission process.