The South Asian University in Delhi suspended four of its teachers for allegedly engaging in “misconduct under Regulation 17.8 and the code of conduct prescribed in the by-laws of the university.” on June 16. Following the student strike in November and December of the previous year, where students demanded an increase in scholarships and fellowships, the suspended teachers had requested the university administrators to address the issues. However, their requests went unresolved. The teachers had also openly criticized the administration for their actions of involving the Delhi Police within the premises of the international campus located at Akbar Bhawan in New Delhi. Subsequently, several months after these events, four professors were suspended from their positions.
The faculty members criticized the suspension order issued by the SAU Deputy Registrar on June 16, deeming it “patently illegal” and a violation of the rules and regulations in place.
The suspended professors are Snehashish Bhattacharya from the Faculty of Economics, Srinivas Burra from the Faculty of Legal Studies, Irfanullah Farooqi from the Faculty of Social Sciences, and Ravi Kumar from the Faculty of Social Sciences.
One of the suspended faculty members, on the condition of anonymity told ABP LIVE: “We were asked to provide written answers to a range of 132 to 246 questions by the end of the working day. We were required to use pen and paper and sit in front of the committee members. While we were willing to answer, being asked to respond to such a large number of questions was extremely humiliating. We submitted a written request to the authorities, asking for 2 months to answer the questions via email. However, we did not receive any response, and subsequently received suspension letters on June 16.”
The university has not provided a valid reason for the action in the suspension letter, said the professor.
“They have not told us what the misconduct is. 13 people wrote to the administration in October and 15 people wrote in November. Why they suspended only 4?,” the professor added.
When asked about their next move, the professor said, “We will go to the court. We are currently engaged in thorough discussions regarding the entire matter with our lawyer, and possibly file a case in the high court.”
JNUTA Condems Suspension Of Professors
The suspension received strong condemnation from the Jawaharlal Nehru University Teachers Association (JNUTA), which denounced it as unjust and aimed at instilling fear among faculty members. In a statement, D K Lobiyal, President, JNUTA said, “The suspension notice issued to the faculty by the SAU administration on 16.06.2023 came after a spate of humiliation of the four faculty members by the Fact Finding Committee that on May 19, 2023, asked them to provide handwritten answers to over a hundred questions sitting in front of the committee members. The faculty raised objections to this process and wrote to the FFC and the SAU administration, but they received no reply.”
Condemning the incident JNUTA said, “unprecedented harassment, coercion, and intimidation of the SAU faculty by the administration. There are several news reports that the university served notices and expelled/suspended/rusticated several students protesting against the reduction of monthly stipends without following the due process.”
Also Read: How Upskilling Teachers Can Support India’s 360-Degree Vision For The Education System
It further said, “Several faculty in SAU have also raised their concerns regarding the arbitrary actions of the university administration against the students. These notices of expulsion and rustication have put the students under tremendous stress, both mentally and physically.”
SAU Responds Back
In the wake of the allegations made by the suspended professors and the whole matter, here’s what the SAU’s PRO (Public Relation Officer) said in response:
Q. What are the main reasons for suspension?
Ans – Allegations of misconduct.
Q. Professors claimed that they were asked to write answers to 130-200 questions
with pen paper and they requested the authorities to do it through email but they got no response from the administration, what’s your comment on this?
Ans – No “professors” were “asked to write answers to 130-200 questions”. The nature of the questions was as per the terms of reference of the Committee.
Education Loan Information:
Calculate Education Loan EMI