Jadavpur University has decided to constitute a committee with external experts to probe alleged irregularities in the admission of the PhD programmes.
The decision was taken at a meeting of the executive council held on Friday.
Many student associations submitted memoranda to the council alleging irregularities in the PhD admission.
The draft resolution adopted by the executive council says: “(The council) considered deputations given by different students’ organisations, resolved that a committee will be constituted by the vice-chancellor consisting of two external members (either a retired judge or renowned academicians) to enquire the alleged irregularities of the PhD programme”.
A JU official said that the students’ organisations alleged irregularities in the admission to the PhD programme in the School of International Relations and Strategic Studies and International Relations department.
“According to them, a student leader with the help of some teachers was admitted to the PhD programme even though he submitted his applications after the expiry of the cut-off date. There are allegations that he was allowed to submit the applications offline in contravention of the standard practice which allows online submission. Then, he allegedly submitted the admission fees after the due dates,” the official said.
Manojit Mandal, a member of the executive council, said: “There are also allegations that the student’s name featured in the PhD list of both the school and the department. The PhD regulations say a candidate cannot pursue PhD simultaneously."
It has also been decided that pending the submission of the report, the PhD admission to the school and the department will remain suspended.
Allegations of irregularities in PhD admission in JU are not new.
The UGC in early January had sought a response from JU registrar Snehamanju Basu on a complaint of violations of rules issued by the regulatory body for PhD admissions.
A complaint attached to the UGC’s letter stated that the university had started admitting students under the supernumerary (excess beyond the stipulated limit) quota, which meant some of the teachers would supervise 15 to 20 students each whereas UGC mandated a maximum of eight for each professor.
The complaint also alleged corruption in the admission process.
Interim VC Bhaskar Gupta said: “The committee has been formed as we have received allegations. We will decide on our course of action once we get the committee’s report.”
Gupta’s predecessor Buddhadeb Sau had on November 18 last year withheld admission to its PhD programme in the arts faculty following complaints of irregularities related to supernumerary admissions.
