Punjabi University guest faculty protest nears month, seek extension of services
Mohit Khanna
Tribune News Service
Patiala, August 13
The guest faculty members from neighbourhood campuses and constituent colleges of Punjabi University, Patiala, are in protest mode since July 16. They are staging a protest outside the Dean’s office to demand approval for the 2024-25 session.
The guest faculty climbed the building of Dean (Academics) to press the authorities for extension of their services. On July 19, the faculty members had also gheraoed the house of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann in Sangrur.
Despite repeated requests, the faculty members refused to move and the police was called to bring down the protesting staff. Currently, the university officials are in talks to arrive at an amicable solution.
The leaders of the teachers’ union mentioned that the syndicate had already given these guest faculty members 12 months of approval. However, the university authorities ignored this decision and issued a fresh notice for re-interview of the guest faculty members.
The union president, Gursewak Singh, said due to the notice issued for assistant professors of the campuses, there was fear in the minds of assistant professors working in 14 constituent colleges that they may also be asked to appear in the interview for the new academic session.
He said that if the university arranges interviews for guest faculty assistant professors, some of them may lose their jobs despite teaching in the neighbourhood campuses and constituent colleges since 2018. Since then, the university has been granting approval to the assistant professors to teach students without any interview during every academic session, he added.
