By Raqib Hameed Naik, TwoCircles.net
New Delhi: On Friday, September 15, Dhrupadi Ghosh a PhD student in the Department of Sociology, Jamia Millia Islamia received a letter notifying that she has been deregistered from the course. The University administration accused the student of violating the statutory norms at the time of admission and the decision was taken in order to streamline the PhD admissions in general by the Dean Office to scrutinise admissions.
“The admission of the candidate has been found to be in violation of the statutory norms of the University. A three-member committee including an outside expert was appointed by the Vice Chancellor to review the admission and the issue of eligibility,” university said in a statement issued to press.
“The committee examined the case and found that the candidate doesn’t fulfil the basic eligibility criteria required for PhD admission in Department of Sociology,” it further said.
The student protests and media backlash prompted JMI Vice Chancellor, Talat Ahmad to assure a delegation of PhD scholars in the last week of September, that he will reconsider the decision of PhD cancellation.
After playing hide and seek for over two months and several rounds of meeting with Ghosh, the VC seems to have finally decided to stick with the September 15 order.
“Negotiation process with the Vice Chancellor failed yesterday. He gave nothing on paper and said that he was trying.If the highest authority uses this diction, I would rather feel depressed,” Ghosh told TwoCircles.net.
“It was a breach yesterday. The Head of the Department is a manipulator. She said that I didn’t do chapterisation. How do chapterisation and revocation connect in the first place?” she asked.
After deregistration, an RTI was filed with the University seeking the minutes of the meeting which recommended the action. The RTI reveals that the three-member committee constituted on July 17, 2017, and headed by Pro- Vice-Chancellor, Shahid Ashraf examined the documents submitted by the concerned Dean and Head of the Department and found out the admission in violation of para 1 (a) and (b) of Ordinance 9 (IX) academic.
“The subject MFA (Masters of Fine Arts) is not approved as an allied subject by concerned Board of Studies,” read the RTI reply.
According to Ghosh, the meeting took place on August 23, 2017, and she was not informed about such meeting.
“I was not even informed for once which reveals that Jamia is breaking its own Law, as per the university ordinance is concerned. They should have at least given me a chance to defend myself in front of any committee and it is an act of breach of natural Justice,” she said.
She has now decided to move to the court as all other means of getting justice have failed.
“Court is now the last resort. I am meeting my lawyer and will discuss the future course of action,” she added.
Ghosh is also a student activist and has been vocal about issues related to payment of dues to workers, implementing labour laws in the university, attack on female students by male university guards and police entering the campus without permission.
Related:
Targeted for activism? Jamia cancels PhD registration of a student activist without giving a reason
PhD student deregistered by Jamia asks why University took two years to find a ‘statutory’ violation