June 28, Twenty-two international scholars on Wednesday demanded the withdrawal of suspension orders of four South Asian University professors and said such “humiliation and insult to faculty members” is unheard of in academia.
The scholars, mostly affiliated with Bangladeshi universities, said the chain of events demonstrates “lack of transparency and accountability prevalent in a leading higher education institution”.
South Asian University (SAU) has suspended four faculty members in connection with the 2022 student protests against the downward revision of monthly stipends for Master’s students.
Office orders placing the four faculty members under suspension over allegations of misconduct and violation of the university’s code of conduct were passed on June 16, according to an e-mail assessed by PTI.
“The situation at South Asian University, a higher education institution, brought forth by the international collaboration of the eight SAARC countries is becoming a source of dismay and anxiety in regional academia,” the scholars said in a statement.
“The incidents that gradually unfolded from October 2022 onwards have exposed how academic freedom has been rendered weak and powerless in the face of regional autocratic governments and fascist, often populist, ideologues,” it added.
In the suspension order, the university accused the faculty members of instigating students to protest, failing to perform appropriate duties and having association with a Marxist study circle, a faculty member said on the condition of anonymity.
Condemning the suspension, the scholars said, “Such humiliation and insult to faculty members in the name of fact-finding are unheard of in academia. They were told to vacate their offices, return their office computers and identity cards and register their attendance on all working days in the offices of their respective deans.”
“We condemn their actions, and we would like to bring the attention of SAARC to this issue. No academic freedom is guaranteed when students, teachers and researchers can be subjected to such abhorrent malpractices,” they added.
The All India Forum for Right to Education (AIFRTE) also organised a public meeting on “suppression of democratic voices in educational institutions”.
“The issue of curbs on democracy in educational spaces is not just a matter of SAU. In Delhi, we can witness draconian attacks of all kinds on students and professors, whoever raises their voice of dissent against the administration or the state,” it said in a statement.
“In universities like Jamia, DU, JNU, etc., there were many cases in which students and professors were issued show cause notices, suspended, expelled, banned from campus or their admissions were cancelled in a highly undemocratic manner,” it alleged.
The public meeting was presided over by AIFRTE secretariat member Shambhavi and AIFRTE presidium member Mrigank, other representatives of the group and its constituent student and teacher organisations.
Source: PTI
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