Responding to allegations made by the JNU Teachers’ Association (JNUTA) on the conduct of the Academic Council meeting by “interim administrator” Vice-Chancellor M. Jagadesh Kumar, the administration said that according to the JNU Act and its statutes, there is no nomenclature as “caretaker V-C”, “officiating V-C” and “interim administrator” as it clearly states that the V-C will continue to hold office until his successor is appointed.
It said that it strongly condemns the “downright falsehood and malicious propaganda” being spread by a “small section” of faculty member of JNU about the conduct of the Academic Council meeting on Monday.
Damaging reputation
“These faculty members seem to be only interested in damaging the reputation and public image of JNU by spreading stories about the conduct of the Academic Council meeting and decisions taken in it. During the meeting, a large number of council members from assistant professors to senior professors and deans of schools, participated in the deliberations in a very democratic and enthusiastic manner and arrived at the decisions,” the varsity said.
The JNUTA has alleged that Mr. Kumar had allowed only select members to speak and had questioned if the “interim administrator” had the power to conduct meetings deciding the future of the university.
JNU Registrar Anirban Chakraborti said that the Academic Council meeting was held in a “very cordial and positive atmosphere with an attendance exceeding 100 members” and said many important decisions were taken at the meeting.
The council resolved to conduct the JNU entrance examination 2020-2021 in collaboration with the National Testing Agency (NTA) and that the university will admit students through the Central Universities Common Entrance Test whenever the NTA decides to conduct it for all the central universities, he said.
“The council decided to start a new MA programme in Hindi translation in the Centre of Indian Languages, School of Language, Literature and Culture Studies. The council also approved granting of recognition to Arun Jaitley National Institute of Financial and Management [AJNIFM], Faridabad, Haryana, to award PG Diploma in Management [Finance] and PG Diploma Management [Financial Management],” the Registrar said.
The Centre had permitted Mr. Kumar to continue at the university, after the expiry of his term on January 26, till a successor is appointed.
