Discussions on administrative issues and a fight between two members remained the highlights of the two-day senate meeting of the Savitribai Phule Pune University. The biannual meeting was held this weekend to approve the University budget and take up other proposals. The Rs 648.03 crore budget presented on the first day was approved on the second day with a small reduction. Till Sunday evening, minimal time was spent in discussing student welfare, research, the condition of the mess and hostels, and other student issues. The first half of the first day was spent in discussing adjournment motions. Mainly two issues, mismanagement of the anniversary function the university held last month, and irregularities in appointment of members to committees consumed most of the time. After this, a confrontation between two members almost turned into a physical brawl, leading the house to be adjourned. Advocate Vithoba Baste, a member of the Senate, questioned on the floor of the meeting whether the adjournment motions being stated before the house were appropriate. He said, “Only topics that are extremely urgent can be taken up for discussions as adjournment motions. None of the topics discussed yet meet the criteria.” However, his remark was not supported by other members of the Senate. On the second day, the list of written questions asked by members to the University officials were discussed at length till evening. These included improvement in National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) ratings, appointment of contractual teachers, academic audits, etc. Notably, a proposal by senate member Vinayak Ambekar to reduce the budget of the Vice Chancellor’s fund in the budget by Rs 25 lakh was accepted, marking a rare occasion when the budget was amended and a fund was reduced in the Senate house. Another proposal by Professor of Political Science Harsh Jagzap demanding the installation of a statue of Mahatma Gandhi on the University campus was accepted by the house. However, some student issues, like vacancies at the placement cell of the University, were also brought up by members. Pro Vice Chancellor Parag Kalkar informed the house that the placement cell was functioning with just one employee, and promised that the vacancies would be filled in the next three months. Members expressed a lack of confidence and pointed out that a similar promise was made at previous Senate meetings as well, but the posts have remained vacant.
