New Pbi varsity VC in saddle, orders issued by predecessor post March 16 put on hold

Mohit Khanna

Patiala, April 27

Soon after taking over the charge as new Vice Chancellor of Punjabi University Patiala, Kamal Kishor Yadav, Principal Secretary, Higher Education, has stalled the orders issued by his predecessor Prof Arvind from March 16 till further orders.

The order issued on April 26, a copy of which is with The Tribune reads that any order issued by the VC, registrar, deans of different departments and other officials of university pertaining to the notifications, circulars, approval regarding transfer, posting, promotion, resignations of teaching and non-teaching staff, suspension of employees and internal arrangements, administrative or consent for any financial approval from March 16 till date have been suspended till the further orders.

Any policy decision or clearing of files by the above stated officials from March 16 will be reviewed following which decision will be taken, reads the order, which further reads that the files should be presented in the office of VC at the earliest for reconsideration.

Yadav is a 2003-batch IAS officer and has held various key positions in the Punjab Government. He has taken over the reins from Arvind, whose three-year term as Vice Chancellor of the university concluded on April 25.

Punjabi University Teachers Association (PUTA) was at loggerheads with previous VC and even lodged complaints against Prof Arvind to the Higher Education Department.

The Election Commission had also issued a notice earlier in April to the state’s Higher Education Department after the Punjab University Teachers’ Association (PUTA) wrote to it over the recruitment of lecturers in different departments of the university.

PUTA president Bhupinder Singh and general secretary Maninder Singh had written to the Election Commission on March 28, alleging that the process of recruitment of lecturers was going on in violation of the model code of conduct.

In the complaint, the association stated several teaching positions, including those of assistant and associate professors, were advertised through DPR no. 2325 dated March 9, 2024, and March 16.

The association alleged the VC had tried to complete the recruitment process before his last day in office on April 25. To support their claim, the association stated Arvind assumed the charge on April 26, 2021, and his term was set to end on April 25. Throughout his tenure of 34 months, no teaching posts were advertised until March 9, 2024, towards the end of his tenure.

On the other hand, Punjab State Commission for Schedule Castes had summoned Registrar Navjot Kaur following the complaint of Harminder Singh Khokhar. He had alleged that the university was discriminating against him and denying him promotion. Navjot Kaur has also tendered her resignation from the post of registrar after Arvind’s term ended.

Teachers’ body had complained to EC

• Kamal Kishore Yadav, Principal Secretary, Higher Education, is a 2003-batch IAS officer and has held various key positions in the Punjab Government. He has taken over the reins from Arvind, whose three-year term as VC of the university concluded on April 25
• Punjabi University Teachers Association (PUTA) was at loggerheads with previous VC and even lodged complaints against him to the Higher Education Department
• PUTA had written to the Election Commission on March 28, alleging that the process of recruitment of lecturers was going on in violation of the model code of conduct