JNUTA urges new VC to restore sanctity of statutory bodies

JNUTA urged the new VC 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.

The Jawaharlal Nehru University Teachers' Association (JNUTA) has urged the newly appointed Vice-Chancellor Santisheer D Pandit to restore the sanctity of statutory bodies and engage in transparent dialogic processes of decision making for a peaceful and productive tenure.

JNU with the Ministry of Education (MoE) has appointed Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit as the first women Vice-Chancellor. Pandit is a professor at the Department of Political Science and Public Administration at Savitribai Phule University. Pandit has been appointed as VC for the tenure of five years. Professor Santishree D Pandit was appointed as the vice-chancellor of JNU on Monday. She succeeds Professor M Jagadesh Kumar.

“The long wait for a new Vice Chancellor for the Jawaharlal Nehru University is finally over… As the head of the university, the 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,” the teachers’ body stated.

The JNUTA statement also urged her to 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”.

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

Meanwhile, the JNU Students’ Union (JNUSU) said that they were not allowed to meet the new vice-chancellor. 

“Today, I along with other SU members reached JNU VC’s office to meet her and hand over a charter of demands on behalf of the student community. We wanted to highlight the issues, hoping for discussion. We were denied entry, despite VC’s assurance to work along with the students,” JNUSU president Aishe Ghosh said in a tweet.

Read More:

• JNU students, colleagues were delightfully receptive to new ideas: Jagadesh Kumar
• Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit appointed as first woman Vice-Chancellor of JNU