JNU’S VC tweaked rules, got loyalists on key posts
Seniors bypassed in promotions, selection process was altered to change the basic character of the university, say colleagues
NEW DELHI: The Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) administration, headed by vice chancellor (VC) M Jagadesh Kumar, appointed several faculty members who were either freshly inducted with changes to the selection process or promoted in alleged violation of seniority and rotation norms to key roles that allowed them to control crucial administrative functions of the university over the last three years, according to several people familiar with the matter.
These appointments, the elected faculty body JNU Teachers’ Association (JNUTA) and elected students’ body JNU Students’ Association (JNUSU) allege, allowed the administration to push forward its schemes in a bid to “change JNU’S decision-making process” and the “nature of the university”.
According to JNUTA, which has about 600 members out of JNU’S 700-strong faculty, in at least 14 cases of recruitment in the past three years, the selection committee was changed to favour “loyalists”. Of those, 12 appointees were later made wardens in JNU hostels and the other two were given key roles as proctor and chief proctor.
There are also allegations that the university administration violated “norms of seniority and rotation” in appointment of at least eight Deans of Schools and 21 chairpersons of Centres between 2017 and 2019. These people hold positions in the top decision-making bodies of the university – all in the Academic Council (AC), and four in the Executive Council (EC).
While the AC takes all academic decisions such as admission, attendance and recruitment, the 23-member EC is the final authority and takes calls on all matters passed by the AC. The EC is also in charge of the general management and administration, including the revenue and property of the university.
In the last three years, some of the decisions taken in the AC and EC, including making seat cut in Mphil and PHD in 2017, making attendance mandatory for students and teachers in 2018, inviting bids to replace dhabas with cafeterias in 2018 and adopting online mode entrance exam in the same year, became major contention points between the students, faculty and administration.
Of the 47 faculty members appointed by Jagadesh Kumar during his tenure, 26 are now wardens across 18 JNU hostels.
A senior faculty member said, “There are around 70 wardens across the 18 JNU hostels. Of them, 26 are new recruits. Majority of them are the members of the newly formed teachers’ group JNUTF.”
The wardens live in the hostels, and are responsible for security, administration, and play a role in the formulation of hostel rules, including those governing fees.
JNUSU vice president Saket Moon said that the appointment of “VC’S loyalists” as wardens was the main reason behind the ongoing fee hike controversy in the campus. “If the wardens were not VC’S loyalists, they would have raised objection towards the hostel fee hike during the Inter-hall Administration (IHA) meeting last year when the decision was taken,” he said.
Most of the newly recruited or promoted teachers are part of a breakaway group of about 106 faculty members who formed a parallel JNU Teachers’ Federation (JNUTF) formed last November. Even as the JNUSU and JNUTA have demanded the resignation of the VC, HT reported on January 10 that all the five members of a committee set up to probe the mob attack in JNU on January 5 were members of the JNUTF.
Aswini Mohapatra, dean of the School of International Studies and a representative of JNUTF, said, “It will be wrong to say that all those who were recruited or get promoted under Jagadesh Kumar later joined the
JNUTF. We have many old faculty members in the federation as well. We had to make this group in November last year because the elected JNUTA has failed to do its work at the campus and was hand in gloves with the students who have been creating ruckus at the campus.”
JNUTA president DK Lobiyal said that it submitted a written statement mentioning all the cases of alleged violations in recruitment and promotions to the Union Human Resource Development (HRD) ministry on Monday. “As per the JNU’S past practice and norms, the seniormost professors are appointed as the dean of schools or chairpersons of centres. However, in many cases the university has surpassed the norm and appointed even the junior-most faculties, who are their loyalists, to the top posts,” he said.
Officials at the HRD ministry confirmed the meeting took place.
Mohapatra’s name was also mentioned by the JNUTA in its representation to the MHRD mentioning that his appointment as the dean violated norms. Reacting to this, he said, “They can move court if they have any issue with my appointment.”
Lobiyal alleged that the University administration also violated the 2010 University Grants Commission (UGC) guidelines, which say that the faculty recruitment is done by a selection committee constituted through certain norms. “UGC guidelines say that there should be three experts in the field concerned in the committee. These experts are selected by the VC from a list of names approved by the centres. However, the VC in 2016 passed an agenda and gave him the power to select people on the selection committee from outside,” he said.