Jadavpur University, which had withheld admission to its PhD programme in the arts faculty after an objection from the officiating vice-chancellor, has resumed the process.
The move comes after some teachers threatened an indefinite agitation.
The dean of the arts faculty, Malabika Ray, issued a notice late on Tuesday announcing: “This is a further clarification to the notice issued on 17/11/23. The lists of the provisionally selected candidates will remain unchanged. The dates of admission will be declared as soon as possible.”
JU withheld PhD admission on November 17 because officiating VC Buddhadeb Sau said JU’s highest decision-making body (the executive council) was yet to approve the entrance test results.
The Jadavpur University Teachers’ Association (JUTA) on Tuesday morning wrote to the VC saying the “refusal of VC (officiating) to execute the resolutions of Arts Faculty Doctorate Committee which contained the names of selected PhD candidates” amounted to “violation” of the “spirit of institutional autonomy of various statutory bodies and authorities”.
The teachers had announced an indefinite sit-in.
The admissions were supposed to start on November 21.
JU is now finalising a new date.
A letter to Sau signed by Parthapratim Ray, general secretary of JUTA, on Tuesday said: “JUTA always stood for academic and financial autonomy... However, inrecent times the action of the VC has violated such spirit of institutional autonomy of various statutory bodiesand authorities.”
When The Telegraph contacted Sau, he said to get in touch with the dean of the arts faculty about the matter.
Asked what led to the resumption of the admission process, dean Malabika Roy said: “I cannot comment on an internal matter. However, I had a discussion with the VC on this issue. He is also of the opinion that the interest of the students should be protected.”
Iman Kalyan Lahiri, a professor of international relations, said: “We were amazed to learn that the officiating VC last week was insisting on approving the results of the admission test at the executive council, considering that the higher education department early this month asked JU not to hold any meeting of the council because the university does not have a full-term VC. We are happy to learn that the admission process has resumed.”
