JNUTA accuses administration of governance failures, calls for sit-in on November 16

The Jawaharlal Nehru University Teachers’ Association (JNUTA) has accused the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) administration of governance failures, arbitrary decision-making and violations of academic and reservation policies, urging Kanwal Sibal, Chancellor, to intervene in the institutional crisis ahead of the 53rd meeting of the JNU University Court.

In a letter dated November 12, JNUTA has raised concerns over the functioning of the university under Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit, Vice-Chancellor. The letter states that, “The high frequency of ‘Emergency’ Meetings of the Executive Council would indirectly also reflect the permanent state of crisis in the University. We regret to state, therefore, that under your Chancellorship, this crisis of governance has only deepened, with increasingly tragic consequences.”

The association has also announced a one-day sit-in protest on November 16 from 10 am to 5 pm at the SL-SIS Lawn on the JNU campus. The decision was taken by the JNUTA Executive Committee (EC) at its meeting on November 11. The association has asked teachers to participate in large numbers.

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JNUTA flags faculty promotion delays, administrative arbitrariness

In its letter to the Chancellor, the teachers' body expressed anguish over the alleged misuse of the Career Advancement Scheme (CAS), claiming that several faculty members had faced prolonged delays in promotions. It cited the case of Dr Ranjeeta Dutta, whose promotion allegedly remained pending for years before her untimely death.

The association also referred to Lata Singh and Raman Sinha, who reportedly retired without their pending promotion cases being resolved, while several other faculty members had been awaiting promotions for more than a decade.

JNUTA further alleged irregularities in faculty recruitment, service confirmation, and faculty housing allotments, claiming administrative decisions were used to create fear and pressure.

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Reservation, campus safety, academic affairs questioned

The letter also flagged issues over alleged procedural violations in handling sexual harassment complaints and the functioning of the university's Internal Committee. It questioned the implementation of reservation policies in PhD admissions and claimed that representation of women, Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes among students had declined.

Earlier, JNUTA had opposed the JNU recruitment drive, demanding a freeze on teaching and non-teaching appointments , alleging irregularities in the selection process. JNUTA also criticised the continued online mode of University Court, Executive Council and Academic Council meetings despite the removal of COVID-19 restrictions.

Other issues included delays in doctoral admissions for the 2026 to 27 session, introduction of postgraduate programmes without appropriate university ordinances, declining academic expenditure and deteriorating campus infrastructure.