JNU VC 'usurping powers', flouting UGC regulations on CAS promotions, JNUTA alleges

NEW DELHI: Jawaharlal Nehru University Teachers Association (JNUTA) has condemned the delay in promotion of JNU faculty and the administration’s “explicit victimization of faculty in the promotion process by illegitimately invoking the chargesheet, already stayed by the court”.

The teachers opposed the centralisation of power and flouting of statutes and rules with the intent to intimidate the faculty. It also raised serious concern about a pattern where Dalit faculty are becoming victims of “administrative arbitrariness and harassment”.

“Instead of addressing JNUTA’s repeated reminders and the faculty’s expectation that all promotions be done in a time bound and transparent manner, the Vice Chancellor has decided to usurp powers onto herself which are not sanctioned either by the JNU Act and Statutes, Ordinances or even the UGC Regulations,” the JNUTA said in a statement.

“The process and the domain of such victimization has now been extended to the point where the administration is willing to indulge in blatant lawlessness to achieve its purpose. The JNUTA is incensed that this is the chosen path of the JNU administration under the leadership of Professor Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit, exposing the hollowness of her claims of being pro-teacher and pro-academics,” the statement read.

Reiterating their demands, the teachers group demanded the administration to immediately rectify the delays in promotion and letters be issued in all cases where selection committee proceedings have been completed.

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Stating the the ‘arbitrary delay” is patently illegal, the teacher said that the the date of eligibility is determined by eligibility requirements laid down in the CAS Regulations and the Ordinances, and deciding this date is not even within the domain of selection-cum-screening committees, let alone the vice-chancellor.

JNUTA observed that the select candidates who have completed the evaluation process months back have not yet been issued the order while those who finished the process later have received the orders.

In several cases where there is only a requirement of screening-cum-evaluation committee for stage promotions at assistant professor level, the faculty have been asked to appear before the screening committee, including an external expert, in the name of an “informal interaction”. “This amounts to effectively converting a screening committee into a selection committee, which again is in complete contravention of the UGC Regulations and the JNU Ordinances,” it said.

In a recent order, the Delhi High Court set aside the rejection orders of promotions of two faculty colleagues issued by JNU on the ground of “the non-adherence to the procedure as prescribed by the body governing the functioning of the educational institution”.

“Administration is clearly seeking to breed a culture of sycophancy and the suppression of the self-respect of faculty,” it said.