E-Paper
Chandigarh: PU deans’ election on February 20; profs above 60 to participate
According to a senior PU official, professors serving above the age of 60 will be included in the voters list this time. As per the schedule issued on Tuesday, the deans of 11 faculties and secretaries will be elected on February 20 by senators, added members, professors and heads of departments.
After deferring it indefinitely in December, Panjab University (PU) has decided to hold the election of faculty deans on February 20.
According to a senior university official, unlike in December, professors serving above the age of 60 will be included in the voters list this time. As per the schedule issued on Tuesday, the deans of 11 faculties and secretaries will be elected on February 20 by senators, added members, professors and heads of departments. The term of deans will end on January 31, 2024.
The elections for picking deans of 11 faculties and secretaries were to take place after two years in December. However, at that time, the university decided not to include professors above the age of 60 in the list of ex-officio members of their respective faculties. Afterwards, the Punjab and Haryana High Court had directed the university to add faculty members above the age of 60 in the voter list for the election of faculty deans and, subsequently, the university within hours deferred the polls.
In December, some senators and Panjab University Teachers’ Association (PUTA) had expressed displeasure over the university’s decision to not include professors above the age of 60 years in the voters list.
Two years without deans
PU is functioning without faculty deans’ for over two years now. The one-year term of various faculty deans had ended in January 2021 without the selection of their successors since there was no senate and syndicate in place at that time because of the repeated delays in their election process due to the Covid pandemic.
According to the schedule issued by the varsity, the election will start from the faculty of dairying, animal husbandry and agriculture at 9 am followed by arts faculty at 9.30 am, faculty languages at 10.30 am and science faculty at 11.30 am.
Further, the election of deans from faculty of business management and commerce, engineering and technology, education, design and fine arts, pharmaceutical sciences, medical science and law will be held subsequently on the same day till 6.30 pm.
Why deans are important
Deans preside over faculty meetings where all academic work, including change in syllabus and new courses, are decided. They are also members of committees for career advancement scheme (CAS) promotions and direct recruitment of teachers. Additionally, research degree committees that approve synopsis of students are also headed by deans of respective faculties.
As the promotions of over 100 university teachers under CAS are pending due to the absence of faculty deans, a senior university official maintained that the university will initiate the process of CAS promotions immediately after holding the deans’ election.
