Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, May 26: The Jammu and Kashmir Students Movement (JKSM) today showed resentment over the Kashmir University’s failure to complete the admission formalities for PhD candidates, including one year of LLM in the Law Department, despite the passage of over five months.
A spokesperson of JKSM said the entrance test for PhD admissions in the Law Department of the Varsity was conducted on December 26 last year followed by an interview on January 17 this year.
“The selection list was not issued as one senior professor showed some ‘dissent’ for not allowing one-year LLM students to pursue PhD despite two scholars who are doing PhD in the department having one-year LLM. Also, faculty members with one year of LLM are teaching in the department,” he said.
He said the issue was settled after Dean Academics convened a committee, with a majority of members voting to allow one-year LLM students to pursue PhD. He, however, added that after a committee was formed to determine the destiny of one-year LLM course students, only one professor from the law department opposed the decision to let applicants with one-year LLM courses. “Majority was in favour of allowing them, but still, the admission process for all the selected candidates, including one-year LLM, remains undeclared since dean academics is not giving his consent,” he said.
He said that the Dean of Academics did not provide the list because administrators and professors began playing the “blame game,” reiterating that there are no university statutes prohibiting one-year LLM students from pursuing PhD from the Law department.
He further said that KU should allow both one-year and two-year LLM students to finish the admission procedure in as little time as possible, as is the case at the rest of the country’s universities.
“Jammu University smoothly allowed one year LLM students to join for PhD without any hiccups. Why are Kashmir-based one-year LLM students made to suffer because of the tussle between administrators and faculties? Is KU above UGC and BAR Council of India guidelines? When the university doesn’t have any hesitation in taking huge funds from UGC, why can’t it follow UGC rules and statutes?” he asked.
He urged the VC, Neelofar Khan, to urgently order the issuance of the notification to allow all selected candidates to pursue PhD without giving them further mental trauma.
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