NEW DELHI: The JNU Teachers Association (JNUTA) alleged that the new academic calendar sent for approval to the university’s academic council is being “imposed by diktat”.
It claimed that the calendar proposed by the JNU registrar has parts which have “retrospective effect” and would impact students and teachers.
“JNUTA rejects the calendar that has no consideration for academics and the process by which it is being sought to be pushed through. The registrar of JNU had written to the members of the Academic Council informing them that an agenda to consider the academic calendar 2020-21 for the continuing and new students is enclosed and they should convey their approval by mail by October 20,” JNUTA president DK Lobiyal said in a statement.
It said that a request for consideration could lead to disagreement with the proposed calendar or alternative opinions on it. “However, the possibilities have been ruled out not only in language of the letter but also the process through which such ‘approval’ is being sought. It has been reduced to mere formality where statutory bodies are expected to merely rubber stamp for something which has already decided,” the statement added.
JNUTA noted how according to the proposed calendar, classes for continuing students were to “commence” from the second week of September 2020 and the last date for adding and dropping of courses was October 4.
“What happens to the duration of the monsoon semester in different centres if this starting date was not actually the one in practice everywhere. Neither did the administration ascertain how many continuing students had not managed to take their examinations and would need to take them when the University reopened,” the JNUTA claimed.
With agency inputs