Bhupinder is new president of Punjabi varsity teachers’ body

Tribune News Service

Patiala, October 14

Only one woman professor has made it to the executive body of the Punjabi University Teachers’ Association (PUTA). The results of the elections were declared today. Interestingly, the university has over 60 per cent women teaching staff. The elections for four office-bearer and seven executive member posts of the association were held on Wednesday in which the Progressive Teachers’ Alliance (PTA) grabbed three of the four office-bearer posts, including president, secretary and joint secretary.

Of the three women contestants out of 17, Dr Poonam Patyar, assistant professor, chemistry, who contested for the post of vice-president lost to Dr Gurnam Singh Virk of the Teachers United Front (TUF) by a margin of 18 votes. Dr Rajni, assistant professor, department of Hindi, and Dr Ranvinderjit Kaur, assistant professor, public administration, were contesting for executive member posts, of whom, only the latter could make it to the executive body.

This is for the second consecutive year that the PUTA executive has little representation of women. In 2020, only one woman professor, Dr Parneet Kaur of the department of history, became an executive member of PUTA. No woman professor grabbed any of the four office-bearer posts.

Results: The teachers’ unions were divided between two alliances— Progressive Teachers’ Alliance (PTA) and Teachers’ United Front (TUF). Dr Bhupinder Singh Virk from the law department has been elected as the new president of the association. Virk defeated Dr Jaswinder Singh Brar by a margin of 102 votes. Dr Sukhjinder Singh has been elected as secretary of the teachers’ body. He defeated Dr Sikandar Singh, while Dr Jashandeep Singh defeated Dr Gurjit Singh Bhathal and won the post of joint secretary. Dr Gurnam Singh Virk of the TUF got a place in the executive body.

Meanwhile, all four contestants of executive member posts from the PTA— Dr Navdeep Kanwal, Dr Gulshan Bansal, Ranvinderjit Kaur and Dr Baldeep Singh made it to the final list along with Dr Gaurav Gupta and Dr Bhiminder Singh of the TUF and another professor Amandeep Singh.

The newly elected president Bhupinder Singh Virk said, “We will work for the release of pending promotions of teachers, dues and other matters of the teaching fraternity.”

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