Teachers Association term suspension of 4 SAU Faculty ‘Illegal’; Demands Rollback

The South Asian University was established in 2005 with the aim of bringing together scholars, scientists and students from all over South Asia.

The suspension of four faculty members by South Asian University has angered the academic community across India with some of the teachers' associations calling it a ‘creeping process of autocratisation.’ The South Asian University was established in 2005 with the aim of bringing together scholars, scientists and students from all over South Asia.

In a shocking move, the four faculty members of SAU were suspended on June 16, 2023, on the grounds of ostensible misconduct. As per the faculty members, the four faculty members have been directed by the Administration of South Asian University to not leave Delhi without prior permission, vacate their offices in the university premises, and return their office computers as well as their official identity cards.
As per the Federation of Central Universities Teachers Association (FEDCUTA), the four teachers have been ordered to mark their presence every day in the offices of the Deans of their respective schools. The University in violation of its Rules, Regulation and inter-governmental agreement is run by Indians since 2010 and hence, the onus lies on India to project an inclusive image.

Prof Nandita Narain, Faculty at Delhi University and also President of the Democratic Teachers' Front, DU said: “Strongly condemn the high-handed and autocratic behaviour of the SAU administration and demand the immediate withdrawal of suspension of four faculty members and revocation of expulsion/ rustication of protesting students.”

She has demanded that the Governing Body of SAU must institute an independent inquiry into the arbitrary, undemocratic and illegal functioning of the Acting VC of SAU and his team, which have brought a university of international repute to this sorry pass.

The FEDCUTA has alleged that the South Asian University has been witness to a creeping process of autocratisation that is the necessary complement of the commercialisation and saffronisation of higher
education.

It has been alleged that the current union government of India has undermined the South Asian character of the university. Last year, students of South Asian University began a protest against the reduction in monthly stipends. The administration of South Asian University failed to pay heed to these protests and instead sought to brazenly crush them.

A "fact-finding" committee was set up to deal with the emerging situation. The teachers have alleged that this fact-finding committee in a preposterous move asked these four faculty members to provide answers to anywhere between 132 and 246 questions using pen and paper in the physical presence of the fact-finding committee members in one day.

The FEDCUTA has called upon the Administration of South Asian University to unconditionally roll back all these illegal moves. Or else, the democratic movement of teachers from all over the country will use all constitutional means to attain justice.

Abha Dev Habib, Secretary, Democratic Teachers' Front said: “The way the administrators are running this university will only bring a bad name to the country. Such troubling censorship and arbitrary punitive actions are undermining institutional integrity, damaging the democratic space of knowledge exchange, and violating the existing rules and regulations of accountability and procedural transparency.”

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