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Centre issues fresh recruitment ad for JNU VC
According to officials in the know of the matter, more than 200 applications had been received in response to the advertisement.
The Centre has invited fresh applications for the post of Jawaharlal Nehru University vice-chancellor on Saturday, almost a year after publishing the initial advertisement for the recruitment, in order to get “wider choice of selection”.
This means, M Jagadesh Kumar, whose tenure as the JNU VC ended on January 26, will further continue in his position. The union education ministry in January allowed Kumar to continue “until further orders”.
The fresh advertisement issued by the ministry on Saturday stated, “The advertisement for appointment of VC, JNU was initially published on 24.10.2020 in the leading newspapers. However, in order to have a wider choice for selection, the applications in the prescribed proforma are invited from eligible persons...Those who have applied earlier are not required to apply again. The eligible candidates need to apply by 11th October 2021 till 05.30 pm.”
Last October, the Union education ministry released an advertisement inviting applications for the position of vice-chancellor and, later, a three-member search panel was constituted to oversee the recruitment process. According to officials in the know of the matter, more than 200 applications had been received in response to the advertisement.
“The committee had in fact shortlisted some names and letters were sent to the candidates inviting them for an interaction. However, the interaction is yet to happen. It is not possible that despite 200 applications a wider choice was not available. What was the need to invite fresh applications in the middle of the ongoing process?” said a senior university official asking not to be named.
When contacted, a senior education ministry official said, “There may be some candidates who could not apply last year after falling short of the 10-year experience criteria. Since it’s been over a year since the government had advertised and the process is still underway, it would be unfair if they would not be given an opportunity to apply. The government has not provided any sort of relaxation. Even the age criteria is in accordance with last year’s ad.”
The advertisement invited applications from “distinguished academicians, with a minimum of 10 years of experience as professor in a university. It means, the candidates who could not apply last year due to less experience, may apply now.
In a statement on Saturday, the JNU teachers association said with the “re-advertisement” the ministry was trying to give an “indefinite extension” to Kumar. The teachers’ body alleged that Kumar, during his extended term, took policy decisions going against the rules.
“The ministry’s directive of March 6 2020 (F.No. 52-4/2019, CU.III) that forbids all in-charge vice chancellors of central universities to ’refrain from taking policy decisions including recruitments’, has not dissuaded Jagadesh Kumar from following his own norms. He continues to function autocratically, displaying scant regard for the statutes of the university that he governs… The JNU Act and statute, clearly states that no individual can be VC more than once in any situation, but due to tacit support from the ministry of education, Jagadesh Kumar has got another indefinite extension,” the JNUTA said.
Despite several attempts Kumar did not respond to calls and texts for a comment.
Kumar’s tenure as JNU VC had been marked by several protests and controversies, including the 2016 sedition row, and protests on hostel fee hike which was followed by an attack on campus by a masked mob in January 2020, in which several students and teachers were injured. Kumar also hit headlines in 2017, when he suggested that an army tank should be installed on the JNU campus in order to instil nationalism among students.
