# India

JNU Teachers’ Association observes black day to protest against academic council meeting decisions

Teachers claimed that the meeting brought in ‘sweeping changes’ in JNU without even an agenda being moved on several issues and without any deliberations or discussion on the floor of the academic council.

SNS | New Delhi | October 17, 2019 2:37 pm

JNU Teachers’ Association observes black day to protest against academic council meeting decisions

To protest against decisions taken during the academic council meeting without their consultation the Jawaharlal Nehru University Teachers’ Association (JNUTA) on Wednesday observed a black day in its campus.

Wearing black bands to express their anger at the decisions taken in the meeting held on Tuesday teachers claimed that the meeting brought in “sweeping changes” in JNU without even an agenda being moved on several issues and without any deliberations or discussion on the floor of the academic council (AC).

“The AC meeting saw only a blatant abuse of office by the vice chancellor,” the teachers alleged.

The JNUTA claimed that the proposal for the “School of Indian Traditional Music and Dance“ was passed without any discussion. The teachers also said the newly-elected students’ union “was not invited to the meeting merely on the technical grounds of notification.”

“During the course of the meeting, the vice-chancellor kept mentioning that the M.Phil program will be scrapped very soon,” the JNUTA claimed. This elicited serious objections from the floor which were again pushed aside, it said. No immediate reaction was available from the university.

The JNU administration had also come under fire last month when they sought the curriculum vitae (CV) of renowned historian Romila Thapar to review her status as professor emerita. The authorities had justified the move on the grounds of changes in rules and regulations of the university regarding the continuation of a professor emeritus after turning 75.

An emeritus position is an honour conferred by the university on a retired professor in appreciation of their past work. Once chosen, an academic typically continues in the post throughout. Thapar had refused to send her CV to Jawaharlal Nehru University and had instead, written a letter to the administration explaining the status of her position.