E-Paper
36 nominated members of PU senate notified
PU Teachers Association hails inclusion of a high number of academicians and professors in this year’s nominations
The Vice-President of India, who is also the chancellor of Panjab University (PU), has notified a list of 36 nominated members to the varsity senate days before the first phase of the graduate constituency goes to polls on September 26.
The list has left out many notable names, which took many members by surprise. This year’s most-notable exclusion is that of the former MP and Union minister Pawan Kumar Bansal’s. Senators said this is the first time that the former minister has not been included in the senate because of his association with the Congress.
Bansal, meanwhile, said, “I am not surprised by this exclusion given the way things are going on at the university with the current leadership. For the past few months, I was convinced that this would happen.”
Former Union minister Kapil Sibal’s brother VK Sibal, who was among the nominated members last time, has not been included as well.
The name of former Chandigarh BJP head Sanjay Tandon has also been omitted. Meanwhile, former mayor Davesh Moudgil has been included as a nominated member for the first time in the PU syndicate. “I want that we work above the party lines for the betterment of students and foster an academic culture in the university,” Moudgil said.
PUTA hails enhanced selection of teachers
Panjab University Teachers Association (PUTA) has hailed the inclusion of a high number of academicians and professors in this year’s nomination list. PUTA president Mritunjay Kumar said, “Over 20 teachers associated with us have been selected and we hope that these teachers will now rise above their affiliation with political parties or groups and work with PUTA for the betterment of the university.”
Interestingly, many of these selected professors had also stood for PUTA elections in 2019, but ended up losing. A senior senate member on the condition of anonymity said that many professors have been chosen due to their proximity to the V-C rather than their academic merit or experience.
Another member added how “groupism” within the BJP is also visible in the selection. “This senate selection has many members of the group associated with Satya Pal Jain. Apart from Tandon’s exclusion, the group associated with him has also been neglected. Subhash Sharma, founder-director of Center for Economic Policy Research in Mohali, who was associated with the BJP-RSS group in the last senate, has also been neglected. People who belong to Punjab are also missing in the selections,” he added.
The PU student council will once again have no representation here. The term of these nominated fellows would end on October 31, 2024.
