A first: Assistant professors as HoDs at Punjabi University, Patiala

Patiala, September 14

Assistant professors at Punjabi University, who have eight years of teaching experience, have become heads of their departments on a rotation basis. Earlier, only professors and associate professors were given the top post in the departments.

PUTA secretary Dr Sukhjinder Singh Buttar said assistant professors at various departments would now be become heads on the pattern of Panjab University, Chandigarh. “We had been demanding the change for a long time. The matter was first passed by the Syndicate and later sent to the office of Punjab Governor, the Chancellor of the university. It has been implemented after it was passed by the Governor’s office,” he said.

Faculty members said various departments of the university lacked professors and associate professors. “Earlier, the Dean Academics remained HoD of departments that did not have associate professors and professors. This affected the work in such departments in case the Dean Academics, acting as the HoD, was from an altogether different field,” they said.

The university has appointed Paramjit Kaur, HoD, Punjabi Development Department, Nancy Devinder Kaur as HoD, Department of Journalism and Mass Communication, Virender Kumar, HoD, Department of Sanskrit and Pali, and Neetu Kaushal, HoD, Department of Hindi.