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Ludhiana: Teachers’ body questions eligibility of three principals
In an email sent to the university chancellor on August 23, AUCT president Tarun Ghai stated that the candidates are contesting despite service records indicating they have finished a decade as college heads
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The Association of United College Teachers (AUCT) has raised objections regarding the eligibility of three principals contesting the Panjab University Senate elections from the heads of affiliated arts colleges constituency.
The union claims these candidates have already completed the maximum permissible tenure of 10 years.
In an email sent to the university chancellor on August 23, AUCT president Tarun Ghai stated that the candidates are contesting despite service records indicating they have finished a decade as college heads.
Ghai referenced UGC Regulations, 2010, adopted and implemented by the Punjab government which mandate a 10-year tenure limit for private college principals.
“If a person has already exhausted the maximum permissible tenure as principal and is consequently no longer legally entitled to hold the position, his or her eligibility to represent a constituency specifically reserved for heads necessarily requires careful examination,” Ghai said.
According to the union, the contested candidates include the principals of Master Tara Singh Memorial College for Women and Guru Gobind Singh Khalsa College for Women in Ludhiana, alongside the principal of Panjab University Constituent College, Ferozepur.
University authorities recently cleared a list of 15 validly nominated candidates from this constituency, which includes the three names flagged by the AUCT.
Ghai noted that the union also submitted formal objections to Panjab University registrar and returning officer YP Verma, though they have yet to receive a response.
“We have raised objections because the candidates have apparently completed the maximum permissible tenure. The university should examine their eligibility before the election process moves ahead,” Ghai said.
In response, registrar YP Verma assured that valid concerns will be addressed. “If the objections are genuine, they will definitely be taken up by the committee while verifying the names,” he said, adding that members of the concerned faculty are also permitted to challenge candidate eligibility.
