Summary:
NEW DELHI: The Jawaharlal Nehru University Teachers’ Association (JNUTA) wrote an open letter to the human resource development ministry on Thursday for removal of the vice-chancellor . The letter stated that “SC/ST teachers have expressed to him their grievances that they are being discriminated and denied constitutional justice by this administration”. M Jagadesh Kumar, the VC, is “solely responsible for several acts of commission and omission on part of the JNU administration, which is destroying this premier public university”, the teachers alleged.In the letter addressed to HRD minister Prakash Javadekar, the teachers said “in a referendum on August 7, 2018, organised by JNUTA, the faculty voted overwhelmingly in favour of removal of the VC. In a subsequent general body meeting, a resolution was passed with regard to September 5, 2018 as the last date of the VC’s removal”.The teachers alleged that Kumar had ignored all opinions of the teachers and “instead misused the power of authority by intimidating and penalising members of the faculty through whatever means he can muster” and stated that he had been found guilty on “seven charges based on a mountain of evidence”.The seven charges against the VC are repeated violation of statutory provisions and obligations; undermining the integrity of faculty selection process; damaging the interests of students aspiring for research; wasting public money, violating CEI Act and reservation policy; harassing teachers and denying them their legitimate dues; assaulting democracy and promoting authoritarianism; undermining JNU’s anti-sexual harassment policy; and displaying a callous attitude towards missing student Najeeb Ahmed and failing to protect students’ interests.The association claimed that JNU’s academic life today was struggling to stay afloat in the face of calamitous leadership and the drop in the number of admissions to its programmes in the last two years had led to a tremendous wastage of public funds; and that the JNU community had completely lost confidence in the VC.The teachers also claimed that Kumar had denied constitutional justice to SC/ST teachers..