Year on, PU Dept of French Studies sans regular faculty

Akashdeep Virk

Chandigarh, July 18

The Department of French and Francophone Studies in Panjab University (PU) is without a regular teacher for the past nearly one year now.

The last regular teacher in the department had retired in August 2023. At present, the department has eight guest faculty members.

According to Prof Rumina Sethi, Chairperson of the department as well as the Dean, University Instructions (DUI), a post each of associate professor and assistant professor was advertised in November last year.

Two posts advertised

A post each of associate professor and assistant professor was advertised in November last year. The department shall soon have two regular teachers. — Prof Rumina Sethi, Chairperson, Dept of French and Francophone Studies

“The French Department shall soon have two regular teachers. In case of other language departments, the process of hiring new faculty is going on,” said Prof Sethi.

The department authorities informed that the classes for second-year students would commence on July 23. From August 3-9, the department would conduct document verification of the newly admitted students.

The department offers four courses — Masters in French (4 semesters), One-year Advanced Diploma in French, One-year Diploma in French and One-year Certificate Course in French. With around 350 students enrolled in the four courses, the absence of a regular faculty is a matter of concern. Ramnik Aurora, who was the chairperson of the department from 2014-2017 and remained the academic in-charge for a few months prior to her superannuation, was the last regular faculty to retire.

When asked when the department would have a regular faculty member, Prof Yog Raj, chairperson of the Punjabi Department, who has also been serving as the academic in-charge of the French Department since September last year, said, “We are trying our best to hire regular faculty members for the department. The advertisement was issued last year itself and we are going by the process.”