PU Senate term ends, no word on election from authorities
With the tenure of the Panjab University’s Senate having come to an end on Thursday, the university sans its governing body, and there is no word on getting the elections conducted to it from the university authorities.
The High Court has not granted interim relief to the petitioners who pleaded for the Senate tenure to be extended by another year. The matter has been deferred to December 10. According to the authorities, since the matter is in the High Court, a decision to hold elections will not be taken for now.
The issue was being raised by some political leaders, including Anandpur Sahib MP and former PUCSC president Malwinder Kang, who had written to the Chancellor of the University, Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar, regarding the delay in elections. Some students of the university have been protesting on the campus and were joined by former MLA and former PUCSC president Kuljit Singh Nagra and a few other Senators about a week ago.
Dr Jagwant Singh, one of the petitioners approaching the High Court, said, “The proceedings in the court have convinced me that starting the tenure of Senate in back date (November 1, 2020) was wrong. However, the court declined to grant interim relief as notification of 2021 was challenged in 2024. The delay happened as some persons created the impression that the modification of notification is being considered.”
The others have been advocating for governance reforms in the Senate and in the functioning structure of the university. Prof Arun Grover, former VC of the university, said, “Instead of moving court, 10 Senators of PU should have sought a special meeting to discuss the issues relating to formation of new Senate openly and objectively in the larger interest of the university, and the public’s trust in the proper governance of the university. The option of PU Senators to change things in the governance structure of PU stands closed now.”
Second time varsity without top body
This is the second time that PU will be functioning without a constituted Senate. In 2020 during the Covid pandemic, the elections could not be conducted to the body and were later held in 2021. Earlier, in an interview with The Tribune, Vice-Chancellor Renu Vig had stated that even when the Senate was not in place in 2020, the functioning of the university had not suffered in any way. The decisions taken by the VC in the absence of Senate were later approved by the Senate when it met in January 2022 post its constitution, the VC had said.
