Centre dissolves 59-yr-old Panjab University Senate, Syndicate

For the first time in 59 years, the Union Government has completely restructured the Senate and Syndicate of Panjab University (PU), transforming the Syndicate from elected to a fully nominated body.

Constituted on November 1, 1966, the top decision-making Syndicate of the 142-year-old university, originally established in Lahore in 1882, will now function without elections, marking a decisive shift from political to academic control, highly placed sources told The Tribune on Friday evening.

The sweeping changes, notified under the PU Act, 1947 (East Punjab Act 7 of 1947), have abolished the Graduate constituency altogether and slashed the Senate’s strength from 90 members to just 31, including 18 elected, six nominated and seven ex-officio. For the first time, the Chandigarh MP, the UT’s Chief Secretary and Education Secretary have been included as ex-officio members, alongside senior officials from Punjab.

Under the substituted Section 13 of the Act, the category of Ordinary Fellows has been redefined. Their number shall not exceed 24, and the composition now includes two eminent PU alumni nominated by the Chancellor, two professors elected from the university’s teaching departments (one each from Arts and Science), two associate or assistant professors similarly elected, four principals of affiliated or constituent colleges, six teachers from affiliated colleges and two members of the Punjab Legislative Assembly nominated by the Speaker, provided they hold a university degree. The remaining members will be nominated by the Chancellor from among distinguished personalities in public life or those with notable contributions to education, research or innovation.

All elections of Ordinary Fellows will require the Chancellor’s approval, with each term fixed at four years. Those who vacate their seats may be renominated, but anyone losing their qualifying position automatically ceases to hold office. Any dispute over eligibility — whether a person qualifies as principal, professor or associate professor — will be resolved by the Vice Chancellor (VC). Section 14 of the Act has also been omitted in the amended statute. The Senate retains powers to constitute faculties in various subjects through regulations under the Act.

The university’s executive authority will continue to vest in the Syndicate, but its composition and functioning have undergone a major overhaul. The Syndicate will now include the VC as Chairperson, the Secretary, Higher Education, Government of India (or representative), Punjab and Chandigarh DPIs, a Senate member nominated by the Chancellor and 10 members nominated by the VC on a rotational seniority basis — two each from the Deans of Faculties, university professors and college principals, and one each from university associate and assistant professors, college professors and other teachers.

The Syndicate has also been empowered to delegate its executive functions to the VC, a subcommittee or other designated authorities as prescribed by regulations. The ex-officio members of the Syndicate now include the Punjab CM, Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court, Punjab Education Minister, Chandigarh Chief Secretary, Punjab Higher Education Secretary, UT Education Secretary and the Chandigarh MP — making it a high-powered body with direct representation from both the UT and the state of Punjab.

According to senior officials, these structural changes were carried out by the Department of Higher Education, Union Ministry of Education, under the relevant provisions of law. They are based largely on the recommendations of a special committee constituted in 2021 by the then Vice President of India and PU Chancellor M Venkaiah Naidu. The panel comprised the VCs of PU, Central University of Punjab (Bathinda) and Guru Nanak Dev University (Amritsar), with former MP and long-time Senate member Satya Pal Jain representing the Chancellor. The committee submitted its report in 2022, and the reconstitution now closely aligns with its recommendations.

The previous term of the PU Senate expired on October 31 last year. The Centre had been deliberating on its reconstitution since then, but the process was delayed following the departure of former Vice President and PU Chancellor Jagdeep Dhankhar. The final nod came after the new Vice President and PU Chancellor, CP Radhakrishnan, who assumed charge on September 12 this year, reviewed and approved the committee’s report.

Sources indicated that the formal notification announcing the reconstitution of the Senate and Syndicate is expected shortly.