New Delhi, Jan 21 (PTI) 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, some faculty members claimed.

Office orders placing the four faculty members under suspension over allegations of misconduct and violation of the varsity's code of conduct were passed on June 16, according to an e-mail assessed by PTI.

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However, the administration did not respond to queries from PTI.

The university has 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 claimed on the condition of anonymity.

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In September 2022, students of SAU initiated a protest against the revision of monthly stipends for Master's students and demanded that stipends should be increased, the faculty member said.

Those suspended were among the fifteen faculty members who wrote an email on November 5, 2022, to the university community expressing their deep concern regarding these "arbitrary" actions of the university administration which “were taken without following any due process".

The faculty members are: Dr. Snehashish Bhattacharya (Faculty of Economics), Dr Srinivas Burra (Faculty of Legal Studies); Dr. Irfanullah Farooqi (Faculty of Social Sciences), and Dr. Ravi Kumar (Faculty of Social Sciences).

A faculty member said: "Office orders were issued placing the four faculty members under suspension with immediate effect on June 16, given that 'there are allegations of misconduct' and violation of the code of conduct of the University, 'which need to be investigated'."

"The faculty members have been directed not to leave the station without permission. They have been asked 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," the faculty member said.

The university constituted a fact-finding committee in May to inquire about the involvement of faculty in the protest.

“During the interaction with the FFC on May 19, 2023, the faculty members were asked to provide answers to between 132 to 246 questions in writing by the end of the working day, using pen and paper and sitting in front of the committee members,” the faculty member alleged.

In a statement, the suspended faculty members have said this way of conducting a fact-finding inquiry is unheard of in academia.

“The faculty members felt extremely humiliated and insulted by this entire experience, which appeared to be the intent of the committee in any case,” the statement read.

“The sole motive of the entire exercise appeared to be to create grounds to retaliate against the faculty members and punish them,” the statement added.

The SAU is an international university established by the eight member nations of the South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation (SAARC) viz. Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)