Over the past few weeks the University of Hyderabad is in the Centre of a storm and the reputation of the University as a Centre of excellence built over the last four decades has been ruined. Some of us are very pained at the turn of the event and would like to put things in the right perspective.
Yesterday when the Vice-Chancellor Prof. Appa Rao Podile called a meeting a large number of faculty (around 200) attended the meeting. The VC informed the faculty about his resuming duties after the process of Judicial deposition by the stakeholders was complete. He assured the faculty about his presence and continuation in the office and sought support from all the faculty in resolving all the issues and taking university forward. He also apprised the faculty of the incidence that happened on the premises of VC’s lodge yesterday i.e., 22.3.2016 and the engagement of students in violence and vandalism rather than dialogue and peaceful protest. The Vice-chancellor addressing the faculty reassured that he has come back and would continue. He put the facts straight and urged upon everyone to go through the facts placed in the university web. He reiterated that he is always ready to resolve the impasse through democratic dialogues and discussions. While he welcomed and endorsed the right of students to express differences and protest, he minced no words in stating that deviation from democratic methods cannot be tolerated.
The mood and the voice of the faculty were loud and clear in support of the VC. There was unanimity in condemning the violence and vandalism indulged by students and outsiders yesterday. The faculty unanimously and strongly recommended that the violent act of the students needs to be taken to cognizance and appropriate action should be taken to prevent any repetition. The faculty unanimously condemned the false propaganda of branding the teachers as casteist.
The concern of the faculty was that handful of teachers and students have been responsible in tarnishing the image of the university with non-facts. They strongly felt the need for unity among the university fraternity to restore the image of the university. The faculty members discussed the issue from two aspects – the immediate action and long term measures.
The faculty recalled the violence provoking slogans and shoutings’ that translated to the wish that the VC be dead. As a short term measure the faculty unanimously condemned the violence and vandalism, which never happened in the past. To uphold the academic atmosphere in the university, the teachers strongly felt that measures should be taken to put an end to the practice of forceful boycott of classes by any section of students.
Responding to the statement of the VC the faculty expressed their support for participation and dialogue, and discussion with the aggrieved faction. The Vice-chancellor announced setting up of a committee, which would engage in dialogue with students to resolve the current impasse. The Vice-chancellor re-assured the faculty that he would continue his efforts in restoring the de-centralized process of administration which has been in vogue until a decade ago.
The vice-chancellor and the faculty requested the non-teaching staff to call-off their boycott and resume their services to hostels on humanitarian grounds as the hostel-boarders are put to lot of inconvenience. However, the employees stood their ground because the students crossed all the limits yesterday.
Towards the end of the meeting around 10 teachers joined the meeting with a representation signed by 34 teachers. The representation translated to asking the VC to ‘remove himself’ from the campus. The VC responded to each and every allegation made in the petition and the faculty in single voice rejected the contents of the statement and condemned the use of certain words in the representation.
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