Restore sanctity of statutory bodies, engage in transparent decision making: JNUTA to new VC

The tenure of outgoing VC M Jagadesh Kumar was marked by tension with teachers and students. He was accused on several occasions of taking unilateral decisions, a charge he kept denying.

Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit will hold charge for 5 years.

The Jawaharlal Nehru University Teachers’ Association (JNUTA) Tuesday called upon the new Vice-Chancellor Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit to “restore the sanctity of statutory bodies” and engage in transparent decision making.

The tenure of outgoing VC M Jagadesh Kumar was marked by tension with teachers and students. Among other things, the teachers clashed repeatedly on the alleged violation of JNU statutes in the appointment of deans, chairpersons and faculty members as well as on the allegedly improper conduct of meetings of the Academic Council (AC) and the Executive Council (EC). Kumar was accused on several occasions of taking unilateral decisions, a charge he kept denying.

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An emergency EC meeting is, in fact, scheduled for 4 pm on Tuesday in which the VC is likely to ratify the appointment of the new rector which was announced on Monday.

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In a statement Tuesday, the JNUTA said, “The long wait for a new Vice Chancellor for the Jawaharlal Nehru University is finally over with the appointment of Prof Santishree D. Pandit to the post.”

“As the head of the university, JNUTA specifically calls upon her to restore the sanctity of statutory bodies, engage in transparent dialogic processes of decision making, observe the principle of seniority by rotation in matters of appointments of Deans and Chairpersons, maintain rigorous financial scrutiny in all administrative matters and ensure implementation of robust regulatory mechanisms to maintain checks and balances, such that the next five years of her tenure are peaceful, productive and academically enabling for the diverse spectrum of opinions that a university like JNU produces,” it added.

The JNUTA said it will “present to the new administration demands for ensuring a non-partisan administration” and “restoring teaching-learning activities as per statutes and ordinances of the university”.

“As the elected body of teachers, JNUTA will continue to exercise critical vigilance over all related matters to the wellbeing of the university,” it said.

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