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Chandigarh: As students dig in heels, PU ropes in profs to mediate
According to university officials, the committee’s primary mandate is to create sustained dialogue, assess the feasibility of the demands and work toward a constructive resolution
In a bid to ease tensions on campus and open a channel of communication with the protesting students, Panjab University (PU) has constituted a five-member committee, comprising five senior professors from different departments, to review and address the demands put forth by the Panjab University Bachao Morcha. The committee, formed by vice-chancellor (V-C) Renu Vig, will serve as mediators between the university administration and the protesting group.
According to university officials, the committee’s primary mandate is to create sustained dialogue, assess the feasibility of the demands and work toward a constructive resolution. Representatives of all student associations under Panjab University Bachao Morcha had met the V-C on Wednesday to discuss their concerns, following which the decision to form the committee was announced.
The V-C stated that the schedule for the long-pending senate elections has already been sent to the chancellor for approval and will be approved in due time. Although the protest initially began over the delay in the senate elections – a matter pending for over a year – the scope of discontent has since expanded. The movement now touches upon broader issues reflected in the four key demands presented by the Morcha.
The first demand seeks a written assurance from the V-C that no new administrative decisions will be made until the senate elections are concluded, and that the newly elected senate will review past decisions. The second seeks withdrawing all pending cases and FIRs against students from last year’s protests, assurances for which, student leaders claim, were given multiple times but never acted upon.
The third demand calls for scrapping the vetting committee and the current standard operating procedures (SOPs) governing the Panjab University Campus Students Council (PUCSC), arguing that new guidelines must involve inputs from elected student representatives. The final demand seeks strict adherence to reservation policies in faculty and staff recruitments, pressing for implementation of the 27% OBC quota as per Central Educational Institutions norms, instead of the existing 5% provision for backward classes.
V-C Renu Vig, said “The newly formed committee will examine each demand in detail and maintain open communication with the Morcha representatives.”
