PU overhaul constitutionally sound, says former MP Jain

Amid the raging political and academic uproar over the Centre’s decision to restructure Panjab University’s Senate and Syndicate, former MP and eleven-time University Senator Satya Pal Jain has strongly defended the move, asserting that the amendments are “constitutionally valid, academically justified, and were long overdue.”

The Tribune was first to break the story of the dramatic overhaul of the Senate and Syndicate last Saturday.

Jain, who was a member of the Administrative Reforms Committee that examined the issue, has described the reforms as a “necessary correction” to restore academic focus and end decades of politicisation in the university’s functioning.

Speaking exclusively to The Tribune, Jain said though the Panjab University Act, 1947, was originally a state law, the university was reclassified in 1966 as an ‘inter-State body corporate’ under Section 72 of the Punjab Reorganisation Act. “Since then, all amendments to the Panjab University Act, Senate or its composition have been made under this provision. Even the first notification altering the Act was issued on November 1, 1966, under the same law. Therefore, no fault can be found with the present notification,” he said.

Jain added that it was precisely because of this inter-state character that the university continued to be officially spelt ‘Panjab’, not ‘Punjab’, distinguishing it from the state’s jurisdiction.

The latest reforms fulfil a decades-old demand for administrative restructuring and governance reform, backed by successive committees within the university. In 2020, the then Chancellor and Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu had constituted a high-powered committee chaired by the Vice-Chancellor of Central University, Bathinda. The committee included nominees of the Punjab Chief Minister and Directors of Public Instruction from both Punjab and the UT, and it held extensive consultations with teachers, colleges, and associations, including PUTA, before submitting its report.

“The Centre examined the report thoroughly before issuing the final notification on October 30. The changes are entirely consistent with that committee’s recommendations,” said Jain.

Rejecting criticism that the new Senate structure is undemocratic, Jain pointed out that the number of nominated members had actually been reduced, while the proportion of elected representatives has increased. “Earlier, 36 of 91 members were nominated by the Chancellor. Now, out of 31, only eight are nominated. Sixteen are elected — four from PU teachers, four from college principals and six from college lecturers. Among the seven ex-officio members, three are elected public representatives — the Chief Minister, Education Minister and Chandigarh MP. The elected component has gone up, not down,” he said.

He added that the graduate constituency, now abolished, had become “largely redundant and prone to malpractice,” costing the university huge sums every election cycle. “That money should instead promote academic research and innovation,” Jain said, adding that “Panjab University’s Senate is an academic body, not a political battleground. Evaluating it politically does injustice to its purpose.”

He criticised the Punjab Government for “playing politics while neglecting its financial responsibility,” saying that the state, which contributes 40 per cent of the university’s budget, often delays its share, forcing the Punjab and Haryana High Court to intervene. “Punjab cannot withhold funds and still claim control,” he said, calling on all stakeholders to “rise above party lines and give the new system a fair chance.”

“The university has operated under one system for 60 years. Let’s give this new model time to prove its merit rather than killing reform in its infancy,” Jain remarked.

His defence comes amid growing backlash from political quarters. Chandigarh Congress MP and former Union Minister Manish Tewari on Monday termed the restructuring “a legal travesty and constitutional overreach,” arguing that the Centre cannot rewrite a state statute — the Panjab University Act, 1947 — using transitional powers under the Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966. “Such powers were meant for temporary arrangements, not for radical restructuring six decades later,” he told The Tribune, warning that the move “tramples the federal scheme of the Constitution” and “will not stand judicial scrutiny.”

The October 30 notification has reduced the Senate’s strength from 90 to 31, abolished the graduate constituency and converted the Syndicate into a fully nominated body. The Centre maintains that the changes will curb political interference and ensure merit-driven governance in the 143-year-old university, which was originally established in Lahore in 1882 before being relocated to Chandigarh after Partition.