The Hindu : New Delhi News : Hurt and pained by ‘bypass’

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Jul 12, 2007
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New Delhi

Hurt and pained by ‘bypass’

Stung by the JNU administration’s decision to “bypass” him in appointment of the chairperson of the Centre of Indian Languages (School of Languages, Literature and Culture Studies) at Jawaharlal Nehru University, Prof. Chaman Lal has written a protest letter to Vice-Chancellor B. B. Bhattacharya.

“As per the seniority list, I was to be appointed chairperson of the centre. But by blatantly ignoring my seniority without any tangible reason, the next teacher in the list has been appointed chairperson. It has almost never happened in the history of JNU,” said Prof. Lal, who is also president of the JNU Teachers’ Association (JNUTA), in the letter.

“Seniority principle or convention is given away only under certain very special circumstances, like (i) The teacher concerned is not inclined himself/herself and gives it in writing; (ii) Faculty member concerned is seriously unwell and not in a position to discharge his or her responsibilities. Even in such cases his or her consent is obtained; and (iii) There are serious allegations against the teacher concerned such as of moral turpitude or financial irregularities. In my case, none of these conditions exists,” he pointed out.

In his letter to Prof. Bhattacharya, Prof. Lal registered his protest for allegedly being asked to choose between continuing as JNUTA president or becoming the centre’s chairperson.

“In the past as well as in the present JNUTA team, there have been chairpersons of different centres, so why insist in my case? In fact, persons like Prof. Yogender Singh and Prof. Sivatosh Mukhrejee had held both positions, that of JNUTA president and the chairperson of a centre, with distinction.” The JNU administration, for its part, clarified that in the past too there have been instances where the “appointment of a chairperson was not on the basis of his/her inter se seniority within the centre/school”.

In a press release, it said: “The Statute 18(2) © (I) says “Each centre/department shall have a chairperson who shall be appointed by the Executive Council from amongst the professors/senior fellows for a period of two years. Provided that where in any centre/department, there is only one professor/senior fellow, the Executive Council may also appoint one of the associate professors/fellows as chairman of the centre/department.”

Meanwhile, the Federation of Central Universities Teachers’ Associations and the Delhi University Teachers’ Association have also objected to the administration’s decision not to appoint Prof. Lal as CIL chairperson.

The Federation of Hotel and Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI) Institute of Hospitality Management at Greater Noida has introduced two new programmes from this year -- a B.Sc. course in hospitality, catering and tourism from Sikkim Manipal University and a one-year specialised programme in various hospitality operations.

Students who have cleared Class XII or equivalent from any recognised Board in India or abroad can apply to these courses. Admission to these programmes will be based on a written test and an interaction with the faculty and their assessment of the candidate.

A 12-member delegation from Saudi Arabia visited Jamia Millia Islamia this week. The youth delegation comprising medical students, engineers and teachers is visiting India as part of an exchange programme of the Union Sports and Youth Affairs Ministry.

The delegation visited the AJK Mass Communication Research Centre where it interacted with staff and students and the members were taken on a round of the studios and other technical facilities.

-- Parul Sharma

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