The Central government has dissolved the 59-year-old Senate and Syndicate of Panjab University (PU) and approved a complete restructuring of the two highest governing bodies, a decision that ends their elected status and makes the Syndicate a fully nominated entity.
Established in Lahore in 1882 and reconstituted in Chandigarh on November 1, 1966, the 142-year-old university will now operate under a new governance model. According to a notification issued by the Union Department of Higher Education, Union Ministry of Education, the Graduate Constituency has been abolished and the strength of the Senate has been reduced from 90 to 31 members, comprising 18 elected, six nominated and seven ex-officio members.
For the first time, the Chandigarh MP, the UT Chief Secretary and Education Secretary have been made ex-officio members, along with senior Punjab officials. Under the revised structure, the number of Ordinary Fellows will now be up to 24, including two eminent PU alumni nominated by the Chancellor, two professors (one each from Arts and Science) elected by the university faculty, two associate/assistant professors elected similarly, four principals of affiliated colleges, six teachers from affiliated institutions and two MLAs from Punjab nominated by the Speaker.
The Chancellor will approve all elections of Ordinary Fellows with each serving a four-year term. Vacancies may be refilled by renomination, but loss of qualification will automatically end membership. Any dispute on eligibility will be decided by the Vice Chancellor, while Section 14 of the original Act has been omitted in the amended statute.
The university’s executive authority will continue to rest with the Syndicate, but with a radically new composition. It will now include the Vice Chancellor as Chairperson, Secretaries of Higher Education (Centre, Punjab, and UT) or their nominees, Directors of Public Instruction (Punjab & Chandigarh), one Senate member nominated by the Chancellor, 10 members nominated by the VC on rotational seniority basis — including Deans, university and college professors, associate/assistant professors and other teaching representatives
Ex-officio members of the new Syndicate include the chief minister of Punjab, Chief Justice of Punjab & Haryana High Court, Punjab Education Minister, UT Chief Secretary, Punjab Higher Education Secretary, UT Education Secretary and the Chandigarh MP, making it a high-powered decision-making body with direct state and UT representation.
The Syndicate has also been empowered to delegate its executive powers to the Vice Chancellor, subcommittees or other university authorities, as per regulations.
These sweeping reforms stem from recommendations of a special committee constituted in 2021 by then Vice President and PU Chancellor M. Venkaiah Naidu, which included the Vice Chancellors of PU, GNDU (Amritsar) and Central University of Punjab (Bathinda) and former MP and long-time Senate member Satyapal Jain as members. The panel’s 2022 report formed the basis for this restructuring, which was approved after it was reviewed by Vice President C.P. Radhakrishnan.
The tenure of the previous PU Senate had expired on October 31, 2024, and its reconstitution was pending. The Centre’s approval marks the end of six decades of electoral representation and the beginning of a more centralised administrative model.
Also read: Prof Simrit Kahlon appointed Vigilance head of Panjab University
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