AMU teachers express concern over delay in appointment of regular vice-chancellor

Expressing concern over the delay in the appointment of a regular vice-chancellor for the Aligarh Muslim University, the secretary of its teachers association Sunday said any further lag may impede the university's regular functioning.

Pro Vice-Chancellor Mohammad Gulrez has been officiating as AMU's vice-chancellor after Tariq Mansoor resigned from the post in April following his nomination as a member of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council.

Newly elected secretary of AMU Teachers Association Ahmad Siddique on Sunday said the association in its general body meeting held last weekend had passed a unanimous resolution highlighting the concerns of the teaching community over the delay in the appointment of a regular vice-chancellor.

The association has decided to take democratic steps to build pressure on AMU authorities to immediately start the process of setting up a panel from which the next vice-chancellor will be selected.

'Any further delay in initiating this process could plunge the institution into a deep crisis since regular functioning of the university, including appointments to key posts, have been badly affected because of the present crisis,' Siddique told PTI on Sunday.

Last week, three newly-elected teachers' representatives at the University's Executive Council also released a resolution demanding the process of appointing a regular vice-chancellor be started immediately.

The AMU Teachers Association passed a separate resolution expressing grave concern over the 'alarming rise' of communal and sectarian violence in the country as witnessed in Manipur, Haryana's Nuh and Uttarakhand.

Growing polarisation within the society should be a cause of grave concern to all citizens, the association said in the resolution and also expressed concern over the role of a section of media in polarising the society.