The Jawaharlal Nehru University Teachers’ Association said on Tuesday that 93% of the faculty members who voted in a referendum were in favour of sacking Vice Chancellor M Jagadesh Kumar. As many as 96% of the 300 voting members opposed taking a loan from the Higher Education Funding Agency.
The association said a “referendum” had asked teachers to vote on whether Kumar should remain the vice chancellor and whether the university should take a loan from the funding agency. The association said 300 out of 586 teachers had voted.
While 279 voted in favour of sacking Kumar, eight were against it. Eight votes were invalid and five members abstained, the association said.
Also, 288 teachers voted against taking a loan which the university is contemplating applying for, and four were in favour of it. The remaining votes were invalid or the members abstained from voting.
In a press release, the association claimed that the turnout at the referendum was a surprise because the JNU administration “has been recently indulging in individual targeting, issuing notices against faculty members who dare to express dissent in any manner”. It said that individual letters were issued to those “seen protesting” after a demonstration on July 31 against Kumar.
Meanwhile, the Jawaharlal Nehru University will hold its second-ever convocation at the All India Council for Technical Education auditorium in New Delhi on Wednesday, ANI reported. This is the first time in 46 years that the university is holding a convocation.
Around 400 students who graduated between January 1, 2017 and June 30, 2018, will be conferred with Doctor of Philosophy degrees. University Chancellor and Niti Aayog member VK Saraswat will deliver the convocation address and award the degrees.
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