JNUTA Writes to President Again, Seeks Removal of JNU VC Over ‘Crisis of Governance’

Raising concerns over promotions, the teachers’ body alleged that “the systematic sidelining in promotions of anyone who says anything about the University’s misgovernance”

The Jawaharlal Nehru University Teachers Association (JNUTA) has sent a letter to the President of India, Droupadi Murmu, who is also the Visitor of the university alleging irregularities by the Vice Chancellor. The teachers body have demanded President's intervention in what they have described as an escalating “crisis of governance” under VC Prof. Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit.

On September 22, in a second open letter sent to the President this month, the JNUTA has alleged that the VC’s conduct has led to repeated violations of statutory norms and vindictive decisions targeting faculty members. “The mockery of the idea of JNU being a public institution required to work within its given statutory framework, not according to the whims and fancies of the VC, has only repeated itself many times over,” the letter stated.

The teachers’ body highlighted the plight of two senior professors who are on the verge of retirement but have not been granted long-pending promotions despite fulfilling all eligibility requirements. “If the two colleagues are denied their legitimate claims to promotion before they retire, they will not be cases of slipping through the net by default. Instead, they would be deliberate acts of the Vice Chancellor,” the JNUTA wrote.

The association also cited the recent termination of a teacher, which was challenged in the Delhi High Court. It said the administration was “unable to defend the legality of its decision” and was forced to hold the termination order in abeyance. According to the JNUTA, the VC’s personal appearance in court revealed “the truth that the termination was for her the pursuit of a personal agenda.”

Raising concerns over promotions, the teachers’ body alleged that “the systematic sidelining in promotions of anyone who says anything about the University’s misgovernance” called into question JNU’s commitment to gender and social justice. It further claimed that a newly created “Standing Committee on Confirmation” was an arbitrary attempt to reinforce the case for termination of a probationary teacher.

“The conversion of a public institution into a personal fiefdom of the VC has been cemented – and there is no way that teachers can expect a fair treatment,” the letter said, urging the President to act before “irreparable harm” is done to retiring colleagues.

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