Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Nov 20: In a joint meet, office bearers of teaching and non-teaching associations of erstwhile State Universities namely University of Jammu, University of Kashmir, SKUAST-Jammu and SKUAST-Kashmir constituted a Joint Action Committee (JAC) against the JK Public University Bill – 2022.
Jammu University Teachers’ Association (JUTA), Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences & Technology – Teaching Association Jammu (SKUAST-TAJ), Non-Teaching Associations of Jammu University and SKUAST-Jammu and Scientists/Teachers Association (SSTA) of SKUAST-Kashmir (in online mode) attended this joint meeting in which the members of various associations/unions of State Varsities expressed a deep sense of disappointment/dismay on the manner in which this bill has been proposed and recently passed by SAC without bringing it in the public domain and without taking the stake holders into confidence.
The associations expressed that it is a blow to the very concept of the University Autonomy, both in administrative and academic terms as many of the provisions of the bill are retrogressive in nature and are against the academic freedom of the University. The members of associations of erstwhile State Universities took a strong note of this anti-university bill and stressed that Universities are autonomous bodies, their teachers are not Government servants and hence it will be a terrible loss to nation’s public/intellectual life, if the University teachers are brought within the definition of “Public Servants” under the section 21 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 as proposed in the bill.
Further, Joint Action Committee (JACPUB) have also rejected the Inter University transfer for the University Teachers who devote much of their time for research apart from class room teaching and showed their concern that if such policies are adopted, the research culture of the universities will be collapsed totally.
The meeting was addressed by Professor Pankaj Srivastava (president JUTA), Dr Vikas Sharma (president SKAUST-TAJ), Dr Manoj Bhatt (vice president JUTA), Dr Ravinder Singh (secretary JUTA), Dr Amitesh Sharma (executive, SKUAST-TAJ), Dr Rakesh Chib (president, JU Non-Teaching Employees Union) and Zamir-ul-Haq (general secretary, NTEA SKUAST-J).
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