PU’s Centre for Human Rights & Duties faces severe staff crunch

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 22

Established in 2007, the Centre for Human Rights and Duties Department at Panjab University (PU) is grappling with the staff crunch with only two regular faculty members. Yet, in the previous session (2018-19), it accommodated 15 PhD and three MPhil research scholars. In the last five years, the department has published 43 papers, which include 17 from permanent faculty, 20 from guest faculty and six by the research scholars.

During a press conference, chairperson of the department, Dr Namita Gupta, voiced the department’s grouse over staff crunch and absence of a university van for field visits.

“We arrange guest faculty from several other departments of the university, including the Science Department, but there are only two regular teachers here, including me and Dr Upneet Kaur Mangat, who is an Assistant Professor. Also, for field visits, we have not been provided with a university van,” she said.

The department was upgraded to an independent centre in 2010 and PhD course curriculum was also introduced that year. Later, in 2017, MPhil course was also added to the curriculum.

Courses offered

The department, which has 35+4 (NRI) seats for a two-year MA course, enrols students who scored a minimum of 45 per cent marks in human rights and duties, political science, sociology, economics, psychology, philosophy, history, women’s studies, police administration, social work, Gandhian and peace studies or 50 per cent marks in the aggregate in any other discipline.

Admission criteria

The admission criteria is based on an aptitude test, which includes scoring a minimum of 50 marks in academics, 35 in written test, seven in group discussion and eight in personal interview.

The department is also offering 10 seats for students wanting to pursue MPhil, while PhD depends on availability of the subject. A five per cent concession is admissible in eligibility marks to SC/ST/BC/PwD candidates.

International collaborations

The department has been organising a Summer School Programme at Nottingham Law School at Strasbourg, France, since 2015. In this programme, students go to Strasbourg for a one-month summer internship on human rights.

In the Mobility Programme, under New Colombo Plan with Western Sydney University, Australia, students and faculty of Western Sydney University come for two to three weeks programme at the department. The programme was first organised in 2016 and the second one was held in 2018.

Placement of alumni

The department chairperson expressed interest in starting industry-academia collaboration in the coming session. She shared that the department’s alumni had been working at the national and international level organisations/NGOs/trusts as human rights defenders, social workers, lawyers, teachers, administrative officers, research associates, assistants and volunteers.

“Sushant Setia is doing PhD at The University of Strathclyde (UK) with 100 per cent scholarship. Beant Kaur is in Council of International Programmes USA, CIPUSA, and Suchita Singh is United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Delhi,” said Dr Namita Gupta.