New Delhi: Teachers from 18 central universities have called off their strike on September 5, keeping in mind that a number of teachers would be involved in the Delhi University Students Union (DUSU) polls on Friday, official sources said.

The Federation of Central Universities Teachers' Association (FEDCUTA), which has long been protesting the University Grants Commission (UGC) pay review committee's demand for more time to submit its report, had planned to go on strike on September 5.

"However, as we realized that many teachers of Delhi University (DU) who are a part of FEDCUTA will be busy on Friday with the DUSU polls, we decided to call off the strike," Kamal Mitra Chenoy, professor in Jawaharlal Nehru University's (JNU) School of International Studies, told sources.

The association is now planning to organise a mass protest rally on September 17.

The pay review committee was set up on September 7 last year, with G.K. Chadha, former vice-chancellor of JNU, as its head. It was to submit its report on September 6 this year. The pay review committee, however, demanded three more months to submit its report.

"However, I met Chadha and he assured me that it is just a matter of a few more days for the report submission. While we respect him and believe his words, that doesn't mean that we will stop our agitation. That will continue until the report is actually submitted," Chenoy said.

A total of 18 universities, which includes Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Delhi University (DU), Jamia Milia Islamia (JMI), Jamia Hamdard, Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) and Assam University, are part of the FEDCUTA. IANS