The term of the Punjab University apex body ends on October 31 but authorities are yet to announce a date for the elections, drawing the ire of senators.
PU senators had already raised the issue in May and urged the authorities to release the schedule, citing the implementation of the Model Code of Conduct which was delaying the release of the schedule, but even a month after the polls, no announcement has been made.
Some senators have argued that authorities should give 90 days’ notice before announcing election dates for smaller constituencies like the PU Teachers constituency and the University Teachers constituency, which will take place before the end of the term on October 31. But the largest constituency, the Registered Graduate Students constituency, needs to be given 240 days’ notice.Even if the election dates are announced now, elections for the Registered Graduate Students constituency can only be held by the end of February.
PU officials maintain that the PU Senate will continue to function after October 31, but despite the delay, several other constituencies and nominated members are already in place, allowing the Senate to function and take decisions even with a reduced staff. PU Vice-Chancellor Renu Vig said the schedule has been prepared and sent to PU Chancellor and Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar, but the final approval is yet to be received from the Prime Minister’s Office.
However, senators have warned that this could be used to pass unfavourable agendas in the PU senate. The six senators issued a statement saying that due to the small number of members, issues such as PU’s affiliation to Haryana universities, which was strongly opposed in the senate meeting held in June 2023, could be forced through at this juncture when all the elected members of the senate are not present. Senator Inderpal Singh Sidhu said with only a few days left for the session to end, the PU authorities must take up the issue on priority.
The university already has no union this year due to a pending case in the Punjab and Haryana High Court. No dean elections were held this year. Senators warned that the power of the PU senate must not be diluted.
