Rajasthan University reverses gag order banning its employees from speaking to media

JAIPUR: After uproar by teachers and students, the University of Rajasthan on Monday withdrew its June 24 order barring its staff from communicating with the press, radio and social media without its permission. The order, issued by the office of the registrar said, “No employee shall have any communication with the press or radio or do anything which will be prejudicial to the interest of the university or bring it into dispute.”
The order had mentioned that “staff from different departments, colleges send out information through social media (press or internet) without prior intimation to authorised officials, which is against the rules of the university…”
After the order was issued on Friday, teachers and students wrote to the vice-chancellor and chief minister respectively, stating that the order curbed their freedom of expression. Ramcharan Bohra, MP from Jaipur also tweeted, “University teachers are the leaders of the society. They write and spread knowledge about every sphere of the society. This order is an attack on the autonomy of higher education. I request the governor and chief minister to kindly get this unjustified order quashed.”
Professor Sanjay Kumar, president of Rajasthan University Teachers’ Association said, “It is good that this order has been reversed as barring university officials from speaking to the media in today’s age makes no sense. Academics and media must go hand in hand, then only the youth of the country will know what is happening and how they can contribute. Many times, we share updates with media directly, due to their vast reach and the message reaches the masses before it gets uploaded on the official website. This helps students in far off areas who are not always able to access the internet, but have access to television or radio.”
Speaking about the reversal of the order, Rajeev Jain, vice-chancellor of the university said, “The circular issued was based on a previous notification of the University itself, but it has been reversed now. The university believes in freedom of speech and expression of everyone. It was a mistake which has been rectified.”
Amid the flip-flop, registrar Neelima Takshak said, “The circular was issued based on existing norms of the university. A notification from March 7, 2022, regarding the code of conduct for the employees, still remains on the website.”