DUTA PRESS RELEASE, 19.7.2014

After irresponsibly delaying the process of restructuring of the 2nd and 3rd years for the 2013 batch of students admitted to the now rolled back FYUP, the University administration convened meetings of the Academic and Executive Councils today – on the eve of the start of the new session –  to finalise the courses.

However, even in this process, the Vice Chancellor has continued with the deplorable attitude of violating the Act, Statutes and Ordinances. The AC, the authority to design courses, was not  consulted on the model of restructuring: the Committees of Courses, the concerned bodies of subject experts, were deprived of their right to decide on the best possible papers by making it mandatory to select papers only from the erstwhile FYUP; the decisions of the Committee of Courses, where a particular Committee had included papers from the three year UG courses, were bypassed either through recommendations procured from the Heads or through changes made directly by the administration; the authority of the respective Faculties was undermined by not convening Faculty meetings to consider the recommendation of the Committees of Courses and by bringing such recommendations directly to the AC.

The habit of denying time to the members of the AC and EC to apply their mind by convening emergent meetings, and providing the detailed agenda only a few hours before the meeting, has also remained unchanged, as is evident by delaying the matter inexplicably and then calling emergent meetings just one day ahead of the reopening date.

It is clearly evident that the administration has not taken serious note of the distress caused to students and shame brought to the institution due to the violations committed by it in pushing the FYUP which finally resulted in the scrapping of the course.

This is also evident from the fact that five new courses under the Cluster Innovation Centre – also established through grave statutory violations – were placed and approved in the meeting, while the necessary amendments in the Statute, required for establishing new centre etc, is due for years now. By introducing these courses in haste, by getting the courses approved in an emergent meeting, and by adding new courses under a centre that continues to have no statutory approval, the current administration is again creating a situation where a large number of students may have to face dire consequences. These courses were not placed before the EC.

We are shocked to note that the Vice Chancellor also denied twelve elected members the right to move a resolution to ensure the rejoining of all Adhoc teachers and payment of their summer salaries. By not coming out with a clear assurance of such measures, the administration is continuing with the mechanism of demotivating uncertainty for our young teachers, created by the University itself, by keeping permanent appointments suspended for years.

In view of this continued disregard towards academic standards, institutional procedures and students’ interests, the DUTA reiterates its demand for removal of the Vice Chancellor at the earliest so that the process of healing the hurt caused to this reputed institution may begin.