CHANDIGARH: Panjab
University (PU) is going to make it mandatory for all the student outfits to submit the record of their office-bearers and their details with the dean, student welfare (DSW) office, to put a check on the involvement of outsiders in the
Panjab University Campus Student Council (PUCSC) elections.
This was decided in a meeting of the DSW Prof Emanual Nahar with the wardens on Wednesday. The meeting was primarily held to work on the efforts to make student elections paperless, in which the suggestions to minimise the use of paper was discussed.
"We are going to ask the student parties to submit their details so that we can keep a record of it to check the entry of outsiders. The sub-committee of the wardens has given its suggestions today and we will now soon meet the student representatives to discuss their suggestions to make the elections paperless. The report will, then, be complied and would be taken up by the committee formed, which would then be forwarded to the vice-chancellor (VC) for the final approval," said DSW Nahar.
The university does not have a practice of maintaining a record of student outfits and the students associated with the parties. The participation of outsiders in the student elections had been a debatable issue for the last many years.
Among the suggestions, the wardens also suggested that the candidature of those who deface the city and the campus during the student council elections should be cancelled. The university radio station should be used for campaigning to minimise the use of papers, suggested the wardens. Moreover, it was suggested that the departments should display the names of the candidates they have fielded on the screens so that the student parties do not make use of posters. The university is trying to devise alternate methods for campaigning. The university is planning to install electronic boards which can be used by student parties for the digital posters.
This comes after the
Punjab and
Haryana high court on September 30, 2017, issued notices to the central government, University Grants Commission (
UGC) and PU after taking cognizance of a petition seeking paperless student elections in PU. The petitioner sought directions for holding paperless canvassing in the elections. He also sought directions to ensure
Panjab University Campus Student Council elections are held without polluting the environment. This year too police had registered over 100 cases under the defacement act.
