Press Note Aligarh Muslim University

Aligarh, April 6: The Vice Chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University, Prof. P. K. Abdul Azis has created a record by convening fifteen meetings of the Executive Council in a short span of 22 months after assuming charge as the Vice Chancellor. The average meetings per year were only 3 during the previous period.

Addressing the first meeting of the Executive Council on July 14, 2007 Professor Azis had assured all concerned that the statutory bodies like the Executive Council, the University Court, the Finance Committee, the Academic Council, CASR and the Board of Studies would be convened regularly and a culture of democratic participation will be established.

The AMU administration has clarified this point in the context of misleading statements seen in the press that the Executive Council meetings are not held in AMU and the Vice Chancellor is running the University in an autocratic style. The fact is contrary to this propaganda.

It is to point out that all the University bodies have been fully revived in accordance with the best democratic traditions and as per the University Act, Statutes and Ordinances. Besides overwhelming large number of EC meetings, the University has convened four meetings of the Academic Council.

Since February 2008 onwards a group of eight members of the Executive Council began to function as a pressure group, trying to disturb the functioning of the EC in the discharge of its statutory functioning. Their behaviour is against the best tradition and interests of this University.

They have prevented the discussion on the agenda items under the guise of discussions on action taken report that never used to take more than five minutes.

The special meeting of the Executive Council convened on 18.02.2009 could not be held for want of a quorum. Seeing the absence of two members that would have given the meeting the required quorum, EC members Mr. Waseem Ahmad, Professor Habibur Rahman, Dr. Hafiz Mohd. Ilyas and Mr. Jamshed Siddiqui who were available in the campus, deliberately abstained from participating in the meeting. Had they attended the meeting and presented their opinion the EC would have given due consideration to their views. By absenting themselves they have forfeited this right on their own.

These members again did not attend the adjourned meeting held on 24.02.2009, although they were present in the campus, they again abstained and willfully conducted a press conference in the University at the same time.

The Council had adopted the general law of meetings that 'members present shall form the quorum in adjourned meeting to transact the essential business listed on the agenda'. In fact the agenda listed for the special meeting held on 18.02.2009 was already listed for meetings convened on 05.07.2008 and 30.08.2008.

The University administration has always reflected its commitment to the democratic functioning of the Executive Council. The administration feels that it is the duty of every member to attend the EC meeting and participate in the decision making process in a democratic way.

It may be noted that members elected from the University Court were not regularly attending the EC meetings and two nominees of the Visitor were also not keen in attending the meetings and were absent in all the last three EC meetings convened by the University.

(Dr. Rahat Abrar)

Public Relations Officer