Nearly two weeks after it notified the restructuring of Panjab University’s two important bodies, the senate and the syndicate, the Union Ministry of Education made a volte-face on Friday (November 7) and rescinded the notification.An October 28 notification had sparked protests from students and drawn criticism from the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Punjab.Faced with pushback, the ministry rescinded the notification, announcing that it was keeping the changes on hold. Separately, it notified that the changes will only come into effect on a date specified by the Centre. It rescinded the notification altogether on Friday. Here’s why the matter triggered a row.Panjab University traces its history to the University of Punjab, set up in Lahore in 1882. After the Partition of India, the Punjab University Act of 1947 made way for a university in what was then called East Punjab. A campus was set up in Chandigarh, with affiliated colleges in Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, and Chandigarh — regions which then constituted East Punjab.The reorganisation of East Punjab in 1966 created the states of Punjab, Haryana and the Union Territory of Chandigarh as the states’ joint capital. The states having PU-affiliated colleges had also funded the university, giving it a unique interstate character, until Haryana and Himachal Pradesh got their respective colleges affiliated to their own state universities.Panjab University now has over 200 affiliated colleges in Punjab and Chandigarh, and is funded by the Centre and the Punjab government. The senate is the governing body of the university or its supreme authority, according to the 1947 Act. Then there is the syndicate, which performs executive functions of the university, and can make recommendations and proposals on which the senate takes the final call.Express investigation | JNU’s fault lines move from campus to court: University fights students and facultyWith around 90 members, the senate includes the Chancellor, Vice Chancellor, ex officio fellows (holding the post by virtue of their office), and ordinary fellows. The Chancellor is the Vice President of India. Ex officio fellows include the Chief Minister and Education Minister of Punjab, the Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, and senior officials of Chandigarh and Punjab.Story continues below this adThe Act provides for up to 85 ordinary fellows, including 15 members elected by registered graduates of the university, certain professors, principals and two members of the Punjab Legislative Assembly elected from amongst themselves. The remaining members are nominees of the Chancellor.The university’s syndicate is headed by the VC and comprises officials of Punjab and Chandigarh, in addition to up to 15 members elected by the faculty.What changes did the Education Ministry propose?In the October 28 notification, the ministry sought to downsize the senate and turn the syndicate into a body that would largely comprise ex officio and nominated members, instead of the current system of having most members being elected.Also Read | BJP raises Panjab University funding gap, says Centre gave Rs 3,229 crore, state govt just Rs 538 croreWhile the 1947 Act provided for up to 85 ordinary fellows in the senate, the change meant that there would be only up to 24 ordinary fellows. Doing away with the practice of registered graduates electing members, the ministry notified that two eminent alumni would be nominated by the Chancellor. The notification also reduced the number of elected members from among university faculty, principals, and teachers to around 14 — down from 32.Story continues below this adThe Chancellor’s nominees from among persons of eminence were also reduced from around 36 to six. Ultimately, the restructuring would have brought down the senate’s strength from 90 members to 31. For the syndicate, the notification added the Higher Education Secretary of the Education Ministry, and replaced the elected members with nominees of the VC.What was the rationale behind these changes?Sources say the ministry wanted to restructure the university’s governance since the large size of the senate meant that there were lengthy processes associated with their elections. They also said the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 calls for governance reforms in higher education institutions, and that reforms at Panjab University were suggested by a panel set up in 2021 by then Vice President and Chancellor M Venkaiah Naidu.They further justified the ministry’s move by stating that under the Punjab Reorganisation Act of 1966, inter-state body corporates are subject to directions issued by the Centre. Despite the changes, they pointed out, the representation of the Punjab government in the senate would remain unchanged.Why did the changes lead to protests?Story continues below this adThe ministry’s notification was met with strong resistance from the Punjab government, with AAP leaders saying it was aimed at centralising power. They have strongly opposed doing away with senate members who were previously elected by registered graduates. Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains referred to the move as “political vandalism” and an attack on Punjab’s autonomy and academic freedom.Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann also said that the state would approach the High Court over the notification, saying it was “unconstitutional” since the Centre had no authority to make these changes to the Act via a notification, and such changes have to be taken to the Assembly or Parliament.This isn’t the first time that the Punjab government has alleged that the Centre is trying to exercise power over the university. Similar allegations were raised when elections to the senate were delayed last year. In 2022, in the wake of reports — later denied by the Centre — that the university was likely to be turned into a central university, Mann wrote to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, asking that the university’s nature be retained and calling it a symbol of Punjab’s legacy.Why has the ministry rescinded the notification?When the education ministry announced it was rescinding the notification, it said that suggestions and feedback from students, teachers, and former VCs were considered.Story continues below this adEarlier this week, student representatives from the university met Higher Education Secretary Vineet Joshi to discuss the matter of a later-withdrawn affidavit on student protests, and matters of governance. It was after this meeting that the ministry announced that the implementation of the changes would be put on hold.