'Restore sanctity of statutory bodies'

New Delhi: As Professor Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit took charge as the new Vice-Chancellor at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, the varsity's teachers' association on Tuesday released a statement calling upon her to "restore the sanctity of statutory bodies and engage in transparent dialogic processes of decision making".

The JNUTA welcomed the appointment of a regular V-C but added that it hoped Pandit, as the head of the university, also observes the principles of seniority and rotation in appointments of Deans and Chairpersons.

It called for the V-C to "maintain rigorous financial scrutiny in all administrative matters and ensure implementation of robust regulatory mechanisms to maintain checks and balances, such that the next five years of her tenure are peaceful, productive and academically enabling for the diverse spectrum of opinions that a university like JNU produces."

And even as the teachers' body said it would place a list of administration demands before the V-C, the students' union in the varsity said it was denied a meeting with the V-C on Tuesday.

The JNUSU said that they wanted to meet the V-C to discuss issues of the student body because she had said she wanted to build a student-friendly environment but their delegation was not allowed to enter

her office.