The Hindu : New Delhi News : V-C’s move illegal, undemocratic: DUTA

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Thursday, Jul 19, 2007
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New Delhi

V-C’s move illegal, undemocratic: DUTA

Staff Reporter

“Why was Dept. of Slavonic and Finno-Ugrain Studies shifted from South Campus to North Campus?”

NEW DELHI: Condemning Vice-Chancellor Deepak Pental’s recent action of shifting the Department of Slavonic and Finno-Ugrain Studies from the South Campus to the North Campus, the Delhi University Teachers’ Association has said the move was “illegal and undemocratic”.

Addressing a press conference here, DUTA office-bearers claimed that Prof. Pental had violated the University statutes and ordinances by not referring the matter to the Academic Council and demanded roll-back of the action.

“We want to know why the Vice-Chancellor has not taken the Academic Council into confidence. Shifting a department is an academic issue and despite a letter signed by 19 Academic Council members urging him to refer the matter to the Council, he has not done so,” claimed DUTA president Amar Deo Sharma.

“The manner in which the Department was shifted on June 9, which was a Saturday, without officially informing the teachers, reeks of a clandestine operation. Besides things belonging to the three faculty members who had raised their voice against the shifting of the Department were not even touched,” added Mr. Sharma.

Alleging a “larger design” behind the whole decision, DUTA treasurer Prakash Narayan said it was a “concerted effort of the University authorities to do away with Humanities and Liberal Arts from the South Campus as a whole”.

The faculty members of the Department present at the conference claimed that the authorities were “constantly faltering” on whether shifting the Department was an academic issue or administrative.

The DUTA office-bearers are planning a demonstration outside the Vice-Chancellor’s office on Thursday.

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