Hold deans’ elections at earliest: PUTA

Chandigarh, December 3

The Panjab University Teachers’ Association (PUTA) wrote to the Vice-Chancellor on the postponement of the elections of deans of various faculties, which were scheduled for today.

The university decided to defer the polls indefinitely after the Punjab and Haryana High Court asked the authorities to add faculty members above the age of 60 years to the voters’ list. The elections for choosing deans of 11 faculties and secretaries were scheduled to take place after two years on December 3. The university had decided not to include professors above the age of 60 in the list of ex-officio members of their respective faculties.

There are nearly 60 teachers who are serving even after attaining the retirement age of 60.

“The PUTA strongly condemns the arbitrariness with which the matter has been handled. Tinkering with the list of voters for the elections of deans, and instead of complying with a previous order (to include all these teachers in the electoral list for the elections of deans and holding elections as scheduled on December 3), the elections have been postponed. This is going to further delay the already pending CAS promotions of a large number of teachers, who have been waiting desperately for long, apart from disrupting other academic and research activities. The authorities are requested to hold the elections of deans immediately in compliance with the previous order,” stated the PUTA’s letter to the Vice-Chancellor.