GNDU VC's appointment: Allegations fly thick & fast

Amritsar, August 25

Countering the allegations of vendetta-driven complaint filed against the Vice-Chancellor raising questions on the legality of appointments in the university administration, GNDUTA members, including president Dr Lakhwinder Singh, Prof NPS Saini and Prof Davinder Singh, today said university administration was not transparent in its functioning.

Addressing the media here, Prof Lakhwinder Singh, who is among the main complainants against the VC, said the proceedings of the syndicate and senate had not been uploaded on the university website since 2020. Even printed copies of the proceedings have been stopped from being given to the GNDUTA, as earlier, he said. “This has been purposely done to keep the stakeholders out of the policy making and purview of how things are being done at administrative level. Administrative posts are not being filled as per the university’s constitution and posts of Finance and Development Officer had been filled,” he alleged.

Prof Saini refuted the allegation of any government inquiry against him as alleged by university authorities. “I haven’t received any notification from the government in this matter. All these allegations are now being leveled on us after we filed complaints against the VC and administration,” he said. The members said the nomination of syndicate and senate members too was under question.

Meanwhile, the university administration released a statement citing discrepancies in the GNDUTA election process. “In majority of years during the tenure of the current VC, there have been no elections of the teachers’ association, certain members get elected without contest and various office-bearers misuse the office of GNDUTA for personal benefits. The Punjab and Haryana High Court has already dismissed a case filed by Lakhwinder Singh, GNDUTA president, where the court had declared that these people were not representatives of GNDU faculty,” the statement read.

Dr Lakhwinder Singh refuted the allegations and said a PIL raising questions on the legality of appointment of VC Prof Dr Jaspal Singh Sandhu that was dismissed by the HC was filed on their behalf. “We have nothing to do with that PIL,” he said.

The university statement said the highest qualification for the highest academic post in the varsity is MD/MS, which is considered equivalent to PhD by UGC. In orthopaedics, there is no PhD programme in the country and the current VC possesses the highest qualification permissible in India.