JNU removes seven Chairpersons, Deans over attendance row

The Jawaharlal Nehru University Vice-Chancellor Wednesday removed at least seven Deans/Chairpersons for not complying with or refusing to implement the mandatory attendance system in their respective Schools/Centres. The Indian Express had Tuesday reported that the university would set up an inquiry committee against erring heads.

The Indian Express accessed office orders issued to the chairpersons of the Centre for French and Francophone Studies; Centre for Linguistics; Centre for Historical Studies; Centre for Economic Studies & Planning; Centre for Comparative Politics and Political Thought; and the Centre for English Studies.

A similar order was also issued to the Dean of the School of Arts & Aesthetic, Kavita Singh, on Wednesday. Signed by A D Bahuguna, Section Officer (Academic), it said, “The Executive Council in its 272nd meeting held on March 13 confirmed the decision taken in the 271st (emergency) meeting of the EC on resolution number 08 of the 144th (A) meeting of the Academic Council, held on Dec 1, 2017 regarding compulsory attendance in all regular courses, and authorised the Vice-Chancellor to replace the existing Deans of Schools/Chairpersons of Centres who have not complied with, or refused to, implement the attendance system in the university, with the Acting Deans/Chairpersons.”

“In pursuance of the above decision, the Vice-Chancellor has appointed Professor Mazhar Asif, Centre for Persian & Central Asian Studies, as the Acting Dean, School of Arts & Aesthetics, with immediate effect…,” it further said.

Bahuguna, who signed the office order, said, “I am not authorised to speak to on the matter.”

Singh told The Indian Expess, “They have replaced me with someone who is outside our School, who must be pliant. This can only be done when no teacher from the School is available to take that position. This is just part of a long list of things the administration is doing, as people who don’t understand education and educational institutions.”

Centre for English Studies Chairperson Udaya Kumar confirmed he had been replaced by Dhananjay Singh, whose promotion from Assistant Professor to Professor had been questioned by Kumar during faculty appointments last year. Singh was the ABVP presidential candidate for the JNUSU elections in 2004.

A senior university official had on Tuesday told The Indian Express, “Teachers and students have every right to democratically protest any issue but if Chairpersons and Deans begin to oppose in writing, it goes against the grain of administration.”

News Source (Indian Express)