Delhi University (DU) on Tuesday asked all its colleges to assign promoted faculty members a higher workload on a par with assistant professors but withdrew the directive by evening after protests from teachers.

In a letter issued to principals of colleges, the university said that the assistant professors who have been promoted to associate professors and professors under the Career Advancement Scheme will assume the "workload associated with the core post of assistant professors, regardless of any promotion as associate professor or professor".

Under UGC rules, associate professors and professors are required to teach 14 hours a week while assistant professors need to teach for 16 hours.

"The letter makes a clear distinction between directly appointed professors and associate professors and the promoted faculty members. No such distinction is there in UGC rules," Abha Dev Habib, a faculty member at Miranda House College, said.

The university later issued a revised letter citing the withdrawal of the previous letter. No reason has been cited.