A professor of Persian will head the School of Arts and Aesthetics, a professor of Spanish will be at the helm in the Centre of French Studies, while an Arabic professor will similarly manage things at the Centre for Linguistics in Jawaharlal Nehru University.
These faculty changes were effected on Thursday after seven center chairpersons and one dean received letters late on Wednesday divesting them of responsibilities for “not complying with and implementing” the controversial compulsory attendance rule.
The order for the incumbents’ ouster, signed by AD Bahuguna, section officer (Academics), stated, “The Executive Council in its 272nd meeting held on March 13 … authorized the vice-chancellor to replace the existing deans of schools/chairpersons of centers who have not complied with, or refused to, implement the attendance system in the university with the acting deans/chairpersons.”
Predictably, there was chaos on the campus on Thursday when students and teachers came out in large numbers against the orders. Students of the arts and aesthetics school blocked the entrance to their department, with one of them declaring.
Former JNUTA president Ayesha Kidwai was clear that “Ashraf’s appointment is against the rule” since “Rule 15 of the Academic Rules and Regulations to appoint an acting head of centers requires the sitting deans to be consulted”.