The Hindu : New Delhi News : Hope for a `visionary' V-C for JNU

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, May 23, 2005

New Delhi

New Delhi

Hope for a `visionary' V-C for JNU

Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI: Even as Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) gears up for a change of guard, the teaching community here seems to be clear about what it wants the new Vice-Chancellor to be - "a visionary''.

In a first of its kind meeting between the Search Committee for the Vice-Chancellor and faculty members here on Saturday, the delegation expressed the hope for a "visionary'' to lead them in the coming five years. An initiative aimed at getting the faculty's views on what they hope to achieve for the university in the future and what they expect from the new head, the three-member committee headed by noted educationist Prof. Yashpal met two groups of teachers on Saturday. While one group comprised some of the senior most teachers, the other group represented senior and young teachers, including some recent appointees. Describing it as an extremely constructive meeting, the delegation members told the committee that it did not matter whether the next head was from the University or from outside as long as he was a visionary ready to give shape to the ideas of the faculty. "We told the committee that we wanted a person with high credibility. Some one we could look up to. This is a campus with one of the brightest faculty and he should not have an inferiority complex but be confident enough of himself.

The campus has always followed a democratic pattern and it would be important to have someone who has the strength of functioning to follow the same culture that has helped us achieve what we have today,'' said JNU Teachers Association (JNUTA) president, Rupamanjari Ghosh.

Some of the issues put forward by teachers as their vision for JNU included democratic functioning, increase in resource generation and University specific answers to problems among others.

Seen as a big step forward, the meeting happens to be the first time that the University has involved the faculty in the selection process -- even if only by taking into account their vision. Although the Search Committee -- with former Punjab University Vice-Chancellor, R.P.Bhamba, and UPSC Chairperson, S.R.Hashim, as its members -- has held only one meeting so far, with the present Vice-Chancellor, G.K.Chadha, due to retire next month, it could well be the most important decision for this prestigious university.

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