Democratic norms violated at JNU Academic Council meet: teachers

Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) said on Monday that the Academic Council meeting held on December 23 was adjourned since all the agenda items could not be discussed. The second session of the meeting was held on Monday and all the remaining agenda items were discussed and approved.

Proceedings disrupted

The administration said while the meeting was going on smoothly, a handful of faculty members tried to disrupt the proceedings by constantly shouting at the chairperson while he was speaking.

The university has urged the Academic Council members, who tried to disrupt the meeting, to desist from indulging in such acts in future.

“When the members were expressing their views on various agenda items, a few members were overly rude and agitated, and sought to prevent the meeting from moving forward to discuss the agenda items,” JNU said.

‘Shocked and dismayed’

The faculty members of the JNU Academic Council said in a statement that they were shocked and dismayed at the manner in which the Vice-Chancellor conducted the 142nd Academic Council meeting on December 23, which was adjourned to Monday. “This was a thinly-attended meeting, since it was held at short notice in the middle of winter vacation despite several requests for rescheduling,” the statement read.

“The V-C tried to push through all agenda items without any discussion despite several objections from the floor, including by those who were not allowed to speak even once. A large number of Academic Council members stood up in protest, but the Registrar hurriedly read a part of the agenda, which no one could hear amidst the protests, and the V-C announced that all items were passed.”

“We disapprove of the way in which opinions of many in the house were not heard and democratic norms were violated in the conduct of the 142nd Academic Council meeting by the administration led by the V-C,” the teachers on the Academic Council said.