While a section of students and teachers are demanding his resignation, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) Vice-Chancellor Mamidala Jagadesh Kumar has been facing criticism for not acting swiftly when the students were being attacked by a mob. But now reports have surfaced saying that JNU administration, headed by vice chancellor M Jagadesh Kumar tweaked rules and got loyalists on key posts.
According to Hindustan Times, Jagadesh Kumar appointed several faculty members who were either freshly inducted with changes to the selection process or promoted in alleged violation of seniority and rotation norms to key roles that allowed them to control crucial administrative functions of the university over the last three years, according to several people familiar with the matter. As per the report these appointments helped the administration to push forward its schemes in a bid to “change JNU’s decision-making process” and the “nature of the university”.
The Jawaharlal Nehru University Teachers Association has urged the Ministry of Human Resource Development and pressed for the removal of JNU VC Mamidala Jagadesh Kumar. They also presented a dossier, which they claim contains details of “misgovernance” by him and the violence on January 5, they said was a “culmination”.
The JNUTA pointed out that a very important aspect of the mob violence of 5th January was the systematic targeting of teachers, their families, residences and their vehicles. This in the view of the faculty specially points a finger at the connivance of the VC and Administration led by him in the violence. Teachers in such circumstances do not feel safe on the campus and fear that if the VC continues in office, we might witness in the days to come even worse than what was unleashed on 5th January.
“It is not therefore possible for teachers to pretend that things are normal and start regular activities on the directives of a VC and an Administration in whom they have absolutely no faith,” read a statement by JNUTA.