NEW DELHI: 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, said officials. “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. “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 factfinding are unheard of in academia.
They were told to vacate their of fices, retur n 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.