In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, the University employees joint action committee has strongly opposed the newly imposed Jammu and Kashmir Public Universities Bill-2022 by Modi regime in the territory.
Infuriated over the Jammu and Kashmir Public Universities Bill-2022, staffers of four major universities office-bearers of the staff groups of University of Jammu, University of Kashmir, SKUAST-Jammu and SKUAST-Kashmir have formed a joint action body to oppose the JKPUB 2022.
The employees said the Bill proposes that the recruitment to universities will take place through government agencies like the J&K Public Service Commission and the Services Selection Board. The Bill also states that employees of the varsities can be transferred from one university to another.
Prof Pankaj Srivastava, president of the Jammu University Teachers’ Association, said the Bill was a blow to the very concept of universities’ autonomy.
Opposing the concept of inter-university transfers, the joint action committee said teachers had to devote much of their time for research apart from classroom teaching. “The research culture will collapse,” said Prof Srivastava.
Vikas Sharma, president of Teaching Association of SKUAST-Jammu, said the government should extend every help to maintain the autonomy so that fearless germination of new ideas were ensured.
The committee has planned to highlight the “drawbacks” of the Bill on social media and through protests.—KMS
