In a stand-off between the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-led Punjab Government and the colleges, the Joint Action Committee (JAC), comprising of Aided Colleges Managements, Principals Associations of three State Universities, Punjab Chandigarh Colleges Teachers Union (PCCTU) accused Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann of backtracking from his commitment on the proposed centralised admission portal in the colleges, stated a report in The New Indian Express.
Thus, a total boycott of university examination duties from tomorrow, May 31 will be initiated and chain protests at all 140 colleges in Punjab from June 1. The CM, they said, made a commitment during the Jalandhar by-election election campaign that the colleges are free to make their own admissions and the government will not interfere with their admission schedule and the Centralised Admission Portal, proposed by the Department of Higher Education will be taken back.
"On getting the assurance we put off our protest rallies and march during election time and the reports regarding this were published in the media," said JAC Head Rajinder Mohan Singh Chhina.
Soon after JAC's emergency meeting at Lyalpur Khalsa College for Women, Chinna said, they never expected CM and his two ministers, whom the JAC delegation had met on May 2 and May 3, would backtrack in this unprecedented and distasteful manner.
"Gov't doesn't understand concern of colleges"
"This is an uncalled-for and a surprise move. The bureaucratic fabric has virtually backstabbed for vested interests as they want to benefit the private players in higher education,'' he said. The JAC, while condemning the various threatening letters to the colleges in the last two days said that the communication being sent smack the bureaucratic dominance of the department of higher education.
"Thus, as the government is failing to understand the concerns of the colleges, the centralised portal is a direct attack on the autonomy of the colleges which will not be accepted at any cost. Now we have decided to intensify the agitation on the above issues jointly as it is a matter of survival for the colleges," he said.
All the college teachers will boycott all the duties for the examinations and evaluations of the three state universities including Panjab University, Chandigarh, Punjabi University, Patiala and Guru Nanak Dev University (GNDU), Amritsar.
"We never wanted to take extreme steps and we are concerned about the students but the dictatorial attitude of the government is forcing us to take extreme steps," said the JAC members including Principals Association (GNDU) Head, Dr Gurdev Singh and Punjab and Chandigarh Teachers Union (PCCTU) President, Dr Vinay Sofat.
