Controversy sparks over Jadavpur University’s Ph.D admission notice

Kolkata: Amidst the ongoing investigation by the inquiry committee into alleged irregularities in the university’s Ph.D admissions process, the announcement of starting Ph.D admissions for the International Relations (IR) department at Jadavpur University (JU) has sparked controversy.

Earlier, the process of admission to Ph.D in 2024 in the Department of International Relations of Jadavpur University had been postponed. Bhaskar Gupta, Interim Vice Chancellor (V-C) of JU, had announced that the Ph.D admissions of the Department of IR would remain suspended until the investigation process was over.

However, on September 4, the varsity published a notice stating, “The process of admission to the Ph.D programme in the Department of International Relations under the Faculty Council of Arts in 2024 may now be commenced.”

Though in a separate notice, the university clarified that all disputed cases of Ph.D admission and any related actions would be provisional, subject to the findings of the Committee and acceptance of its report by the Executive Council of the University.

Some students protested the move by organising a sit-in demonstration in the V-C’s office on Thursday.

“This move has been taken as per the recommendations of the inquiry committee, as they said the inquiry process would take much longer time, and it is not right to hold the admission process,” said Gupta.