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Lucknow University SC/ST teachers’ body revived with first full-fledged election in over a decade
In Thursday’s contest, Prof Chandki Ram Gautam (Physics dept) was elected president with 39 votes, defeating outgoing president Prof Reeta Chaudhary (Hindi dept), who received 31 votes.
After nearly a decade, Lucknow University’s Scheduled Castes/ Scheduled Tribes Teachers’ Association marked its full reactivation on Thursday by conducting its first contested election in years.
Seventy out of 71 registered voters cast their ballots at the university’s staff club under the supervision of returning officer Prof Kaviraj.
In Thursday’s contest, Prof Chandki Ram Gautam (Physics dept) was elected president with 39 votes, defeating outgoing president Prof Reeta Chaudhary (Hindi dept), who received 31 votes.
Prof Ravi Kant (Hindi dept) secured the position of general secretary with 41 votes, defeating Prof Munesh Kumar (education dept), who received 29 votes.
Consensus prevailed across several key positions. Prof Ashok Kumar Kaithal (economics department) was elected unopposed as vice president, while Prof Pradeep Kumar (botany department) and Saurabh Kumar Singh (chemistry department) were elected unopposed as treasurer and secretary, respectively.
Currently, 71 SC/ST faculty members serve across the university’s 112 reserved posts (out of 404 total faculty positions), with remaining posts vacant due to delayed recruitment or retirements.
The association was formed around 2007 by 12 educators, including Prof Kalicharan Snehi, Prof Ratan Kumar, Prof Nandlal Bharti, Prof Reeta Chaudhary, Prof Shyam Kishore, Prof Sudarshan Verma and Prof Dinesh Kumar.
However, following Prof Snehi’s retirement around 2010-2012, the association entered a phase of dormancy. A prolonged re-registration process eventually paved the way for its official reactivation in 2022. Between 2022 and 2026, Prof Reeta Chaudhary served as president and Prof Dinesh Kumar as secretary. They were chosen unopposed to establish organisational stability.
Speaking after his election, Prof CR Gautam outlined the pressing issues during the tenure of the previous vice chancellor that motivated faculty members to mobilise.
“Among the primary concerns were systemic discrimination in promotions and career advancement. Under previous university administrations, promotion files for SC/ST candidates faced deliberate delays, with many candidates receiving ‘Not Found Suitable’ (NFS) tags. In my own case, a professorship that was due for five-and-a-half years was only granted during the tenure of (current) vice chancellor Prof. JP Saini who is promoting equity and equality,” he said.
“While serving as vice president of LUTA, I will continue to advocate for all teachers’ rights. As president of LUSC/STTA I will bring forward issues related to SC/ST faculty members,” Gautam said.
Newly elected general secretary Prof Ravi Kant said, “This time, instead of getting unanimously chosen candidates for the posts of president and general secretary, we got an election held. We aim to ensure that university administration strictly adheres to statutory reservation rules, government orders regarding housing allotment, and constitutional guarantees of equality. The association is back, fully active, and resolute.”
Expressing a counter-view, political science faculty member Prof Sanjay Gupta said, “Academics and educationalists must dedicate their primary time and energy to the pursuit of knowledge, scholarly research, and publication, rather than engaging in election dynamics or caste-based group activities within university spaces.”
“Operating identity-driven platforms inside academic institutions runs contrary to constitutional ideals and detracts from the core parameters of academic excellence,” Prof Gupta said.
