After nearly two years without an elected senate, Panjab University (PU) will finally begin the process of reconstituting its apex governing body with the polling for principals and staff of technical & professional college constituencies on Monday.
The four-year term of the previous senate, a 91-member body, had expired on October 31, 2024. The elections will be held in phases.
In the first phase, six members – three principals of technical and professional colleges and three staff from these colleges will be elected. The second phase will entail four seats – to be contested by professors and associate/assistant professors of university teaching departments on September 14. The biggest phase will follow on September 20, when elections for 31 seats will take place: eight each for heads and teaching faculty of affiliated arts colleges and 15 from the Registered Graduate constituency. The process will conclude with the election of six ordinary fellows from various university faculties on October 4. Counting for the September 7, 14 and 20 polls will take place on September 9, 16 and 22 respectively, while counting for the faculty election will take place on October 4 itself.
The elections come after a prolonged political and administrative standoff. After the previous Senate’s term ended in October 2024 without a fresh election schedule, a student-led agitation under the Panjab University Bachao Morcha broke out. The 96-day protest was called off in January 2025 after the administration agreed to involve Punjab government representatives in discussions on Senate reforms.
{{/usCountry}}The elections come after a prolonged political and administrative standoff. After the previous Senate’s term ended in October 2024 without a fresh election schedule, a student-led agitation under the Panjab University Bachao Morcha broke out. The 96-day protest was called off in January 2025 after the administration agreed to involve Punjab government representatives in discussions on Senate reforms.
{{/usCountry}}The issue returned to the centre of campus politics in late 2025 after the Centre proposed restructuring the university’s governing bodies, including changes to the composition of the senate. Following intense protests, political mobilisation and a 27-day agitation on campus, the Centre withdrew the restructuring notification on November 7.
The Vice-President of India, who is the Chancellor of the university, subsequently approved the election schedule on November 27 last year.
While the election process is on, the university has not yet announced a date for formally constituting the new senate or holding its first meeting. Registrar-cum-returning officer Prof Yajvender Pal Verma, who is overseeing the elections, remained unavailable for comments on the timeline for the new senate’s first meeting.