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V-C forms committee to probe Panjab University senate fracas
“We will also prepare a code of conduct which will have to be followed in the senate and syndicate meetings to discourage such incidents in the future. There will be repercussions for those who don’t adhere to it,” the V-C said
Panjab University vice-chancellor (V-C) Renu Vig on Saturday confirmed that a committee has been formed to probe into the incident involving a spat between Jatinder Grover and Varinder Singh during the senate meeting on Saturday.
The committee will be led by professor Sukhbir Kaur.
On Saturday, senators Varinder Singh and former dean students welfare (DSW) Jatinder Grover had exchanged blows at the start of the senate meeting. While Grover had been addressing the V-C regarding the online senate meeting held in December, Singh had interjected and gone to Grover’s seat after which the blows were exchanged. As the senators were held back, Singh’s turban fell, and both the senators were removed by the PU security officials.
“We will also prepare a code of conduct which will have to be followed in the senate and syndicate meetings to discourage such incidents in the future. There will be repercussions for those who don’t adhere to it,” Vig added. There had been committees constituted along similar lines during the term of the former V-C Raj Kumar but a proper code of conduct hasn’t been drafted till now for these meetings.
Senate incident discussed at PUTA meeting
The blows exchanged between senate members on Saturday was again discussed at the general body meeting called by Panjab University Teachers Association (PUTA) on Tuesday.
While it was not a part of the agenda shared for the meeting, after PUTA president AS Naura finished speaking about the agendas mentioned for the meeting, this was brought up by Kavita Taneja.
Speaking about this, she said, “A member of PUTA was mistreated at the senate meeting. Why hasn’t PUTA condemned this? Members of PUTA were also present during the meeting. Why didn’t they do something about it? Teachers have to stay together during such things so that they aren’t mistreated like this again.”
However, not everyone was in favour of this. Speaking later during the meeting, Satwinder Kaur said, “It was a shameful incident. What model is PU presenting to the outside world when news of such incidents comes out. We, as teachers, are not taking up systemic issues of the varsity and are getting personal and getting involved in ego problems. Teachers like this are writing the obituary of the varsity.”
Ruckus over arrears
A ruckus also broke out in the PUTA meeting as Jasbir Singh addressed the meeting regarding morality of the university and remarked that issues like arrears are secondary when it comes to the moral character of the university. However, several members, including Ashok Kumar and Kulwinder Singh, raised hue and cry over this.
While both factions yelled at each other, Dinesh Kumar of department of laws had to get on the dais and tell the parties to come and express their opinions on stage rather than interrupt those speaking.
Some of the other issues discussed included pending arrears of teachers, status of promotion of teachers under career advancement scheme and the academic audit issues that the teachers are facing and the status of the retirement age of teachers of the varsity. The members also discussed that the university should consider becoming a central university as becoming an inter-state body corporate had led to many problems for the varsity.
