The tug-of-war between Panjab University Syndicate members and its Vice- Chancellor seems to be far from over, as the appointment of four selected candidates, for the post of Assistant Professor in the Department of Public Administration and University School of Open learning, has been rejected in the Tuesday syndicate meeting.
The Syndicate members maintained the status quo, of rejecting the said appointments, in accordance to the decision made by them on December 15 last year. The four selected member on the other hand has alleged that they are being victims of the ongoing fight between the Prof Grover, VC PU and the syndicate members.
Earlier when Panjab University, bagged the number one position in India in a survey, done to rate universities across the globe; VC Grover distributed sweets among the syndicate members. But it is now obvious that, this goodwill gesture has failed to sweeten the relationships between the top boss and the syndicate.
The rejection of the appointment of VC’s wife, as a professor of music at the university, VC’s open admission that he will resign if asked to do so and the syndicate stalling the dream projects like the building of multi-purpose auditorium and a 100 bedded hospital, clearly indicates that the situation has gone from bad to worst.
Ashok Goyal, a member of the Syndicate said, “The appointments were rejected as the VC had conducted those appointments in violation of the decisions made by the syndicate.” However the post for the appointment of four Assistant Professors, two each in the Department of Public Administration and University School of Open learning were advertised in the paper last year. In accordance to the advertisements the interviews were held on December 19 and 20, but the syndicate rejected the appointments later.
In the clash of the titans it is the students and the teachers who are suffering. On one hand the syndicate rejected the appointment and on the other it has also stalled the development projects. The development projects included building of a multi purpose auditorium and a 100 bedded hospital for which an estimate of Rs 40 crore and Rs 12 crore was made.
To meet the expenses the Panjab University collected Rs 100, from each student during admissions in name of welfare funds. The fee was also taken from students, seeking admission in various affiliated colleges of PU. These fees were however not collected, in the current year after a lot of hue and cry raised by the students. The decision to collect fee was also stalled by the syndicate, after Khalid Muhammad, a syndicate member and also a member of the fee collecting society opposed it in one of his statements.
“I’m not the one to be blamed,” said Professor Grover. “I conducted the appointments because the university was in need of staff and it had advertised for these posts. I wanted to fill up the posts, but if the syndicate has decided to reject the appointments, then I am no one to interfere.” While both the VC and the syndicate members expressed their solidarity with the fate of the candidates and agreed that the candidates are not to be blamed, but none of them are ready to bear the responsibility of their plight.
Also none of the syndicate members and nor the VC is ready to stand liable for the crores of rupees collected from the students, in name of developments, which is now hanging in a limbo without any clarity as to where these funds were allocated and if not what has happened to the moneyIJ Meanwhile, the candidates who were selected for the post are in a dilemma. According to them the syndicate meeting, on December 15, in which their appointments were rejected, was called after interview call letters were dispatched.
Therefore, the decision of the syndicate is not binding on their appointments, alleged the candidates who are now in the line of fire, because the interviews were conducted by the VC.