New Delhi: The vice-chancellor of Jawaharlal Nehru University now has complete control over on-campus accommodation for faculty after the rules were amended to remove the existing cap on the VC’s discretionary quota. The move means the VC gets the final say on who gets to stay on the campus in the residential university. The changes were passed in the executive council amid dissent. According to official documents accessed by TOI, the executive council approved changes to Rule 8.3 of House Allotment Rules last Aug, which earlier allowed the VC to allot up to 5% — one in every 20 vacancies — across all categories of staff housing at her discretion. Under govt rules, such “out-of-turn” discretionary allotments are permitted only on medical, security or functional grounds, and are capped at 5% of the vacancies in a calendar year.The amended rule allows the VC to allot houses to teaching staff on a case-by-case basis without any upper limit. For non-teaching employees, the discretionary quota has been raised to 10% for type-zero to type-III staff quarters.JNU has around 470 staff residences across categories, including approximately 38 type-VI houses, 85 type-V units, 85 type-IV flats along with about 90 additional units in residential towers, nearly 100 transit houses and around 72 warden flats. While types V and VI include both teaching and non-teaching staff on a common seniority list, type-IV has a 25% share reserved for non-teaching employees.The university’s current faculty strength is around 700 against sanctioned 936. Roughly 350 faculty members, just over half of the existing strength, reside on the campus, making housing a critical issue in a city where off-campus rentals are said to be expensive and limited.In non-technical terms, type-zero to type-III quarters are primarily meant for non-teaching staff, with increasing size and facilities across categories. Type-IV flats are allotted to faculty and some non-teaching staff, while types V and VI are larger units generally meant for senior faculty and officers. Transit houses are temporary accommodations for short-term stays, while warden flats are attached to student hostels and reserved for wardens performing residential duties. The Senior Resident Unit housing is meant for retired faculty re-employed by the university.The amendments have drawn sharp objections from Jawaharlal Nehru University Teachers’ Association, which had earlier written to the President of India, who is also the Visitor to the university, flagging what it described as a pattern of concentration of powers in the VC’s office. In its letter, the association argued that the removal of limits on discretionary housing allotments violated govt norms and could enable “pick and choose” practices, potentially impacting academic freedom and institutional autonomy.The vice-chancellor didn’t reply to TOI’s queries on the issue.
