Panjab University decides to merge departments with less than 6 teachers

CHANDIGARH: Panjab University (PU) has decided to merge small departments with less than six faculty members and bring them under one roof to be able to share infrastructure and teaching faculties.
According to a notice issued by the office of dean university instructions (DUI), a 15-member committee has been formed by vice-chancellor Prof Raj Kumar, which will meet on September 30 to discuss the merger.The departments have been identified.

The directions of merger were given by a committee of NAAC.
However, Panjab University Teachers Association (Puta) has expressed strong resentment over the way the authorities have selected the departments. Prof Rajesh Gill, the president of the association, said the university did not show any uniformity in selecting the departments and indulged in a “pick-and-choose” approach.
As per the university’s proposal, “all centres/departments/institutions having faculty less than six and having overlap with each other be merged to form one single department/school.”
“All teaching and non-teaching staff will be merged. The merged departments will be called as centres/schools. Coordinators will be appointed who will decide on the identity of these centres. The centres will have a single list of faculty and a singly list of non-teaching staff as well.”
The proposal clarifies that there will be no change in financial sanctions centre-wise. “Although financial powers will be exercised by chairperson only, this will be one each for the centre as per seniority.”
At present, each department has its own chairperson.
The centres will have single office to take care of administrative and academic work and all resources of the departments will be pooled at the centre.
Protesting the move, Gill, in a letter to VC, said: “We would never support any move on the part of authorities to do this merger in an opaque manner. Strangely, the 15-member committee does not include any of the stakeholders from these ‘centres/small departments’. It appears that the authorities are shying away from an open discussion on the issue which concerns a number of faculty colleagues. The proposal has been prepared merely on pick-and-choose basis and is without any rationale or logic,” she said.
DUI Prof Shankarji Jha, the chairman of the committee, said he has asked Puta to give their grievances in written and they will take all possible measures to address them.