TVUF (Teachers’ Voice United Front) on Sunday unveiled its vision statement for the Panjab University Teachers’ Association (PUTA)-2024-25 polls, promising further improvement in the academic ecosystem of the university and the ease of life and teaching for the faculty members.
TVUF’s vibrant panel for the PUTA poll includes Ashok Kumar (Hindi) for President, Suruchi Aditya (Dental College) Vice President, Kulwinder Singh (UBS) Secretary, Vinod Kumar (Sociology) Joint Secretary, and Pankaj Srivastva (Philosophy) Treasurer.
For Executive Members, TVUF’s contestants are Group I: Sudhir Mehra (English and Cultural Studies), Rakesh Mohindra (Library UBS); Group III: Minto Rattan (UIET), Ikreet Singh (Dental College); Jaget Singh (UIET); and Group V: Harmail Singh (USOL/CDOE).
PUTA elections are scheduled to be held on September 3, 2024.
The manifesto talks about restoration of the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) for PU teachers among many more promises. “Our manifesto covers all major issues facing the teaching community at PU. I am sure it will help PU regain the glory the university has lost under the current dispensation,” said TVUF presidential candidate Ashok Kumar.
Kumar said, “If elected, we will fight for the release of arrears including interest, resolving the issue of teachers’ retirement age, setting it at 65 years, stopping Academic Audit by Resident Audit Officer (RAO), restoring General Body Meeting (GBM) conducting mechanism as per PUTA Constitution and hassle-free disbursement of retirement benefits for superannuating faculty members.”
TVUF’s Vice President candidate Suruchi Aditya said that we would also strive to ensure that faculty recruitment is conducted with strict adherence to Constitutional guidelines to avoid any violations including the quota policy. “We will establish a continuous CAS promotion mechanism within the university, with promotion windows opening three times a year,” she said.
Kulwinder Singh, TVUF’s candidate for the post of PUTA Secretary said that if their panel wins, “We will address the delay in implementing the DACP at the Dental Institute, where applications have been pending for over a year. We will implement Central Pay Commission allowances and a comprehensive promotion policy for programming staff in accordance with Scientists’ Scales.”
Vinod Kumar, who is in the fray for the post of Joint Secretary, said that TVUF will ensure fair representation and respect for Assistant Professors to prevent intra-departmental conflicts. A mechanism for amicable conflict resolution will be established. We will uphold the dignity of senior professors and acknowledge their contributions with the respect they deserve, he said.
Pankaj Srivastva, who is contesting for the post of Treasurer, said that some other key features of TVUF’s manifesto include reinstatement of Old Pension Scheme for all at the Punjab government level, two per cent reservation in admissions to all the courses provided by Panjab University for university employees’ children with fee concessions, and education allowance for children of PU employees in accordance with the UGC regulations.
In reply to a question from the media, Ashok Kumar, TVUF’s presidential candidate said: “The teaching fraternity at Panjab University has been grappling with many longstanding issues that remain unresolved. Despite TVUF’s securing government approval of Rs 175 crore after 200 days of silent protest outside the VC office, the current PUTA failed to ensure this money reaches the faculty.”
Sudhir Mehra who is standing for Executive Member Group I bemoaned that the democratic process within PUTA has been compromised, as neither General Body Meetings nor Executive Meetings were conducted by the current PUTA President and Secretary.
Rakesh Mohindra who is also contesting for the post of Executive Member Group I added that PUTA was busy settling their individual scores and that current PUTA office bearers have attempted to secure promotions for positions they were not eligible for, while others quickly had their past service counted, he said.
Minto Rattan contesting for post of Executive Member Group III said: “At this juncture, TVUF has emerged as a force committed to the welfare of faculty members, university staff, their children, PU and its students.”
Ikreet Singh, also contesting for Executive Member Group III said,” We have consistently raised concerns about irregularities at Ankur School and pressured the authorities to address them.”
Jaget Singh contesting for Executive Member Group III said, “We hope that the community will place their trust in the TVUF team and empower us with vote and full support so that a democratic, strong, honest, fearless, and community-oriented PUTA can be established.”
Harmail Singh contesting for Executive member Group V , summarised and said, “Our panel and vision statement are in sync with the issues, which are of paramount importance to further improve the university’s academic ecosystem in totality.”
