No Registrar in Campus: Void in Cluster University Troubling Students, Staff

Senior Officials of Cluster University told Mountain Ink that an advertisement for the post was put out last year. “We had shortlisted the candidates as well but the process was stalled.”

SRINAGAR — The delay in the appointment of Registrar at the Cluster University in Srinagar has affected the overall functioning of the varsity and has taken a severe toll on students.

The University is without a registrar for the last two years despite the post being advertised by the University.

The registrar post has not been duly filled as mandated by University Grants Commission norms. Controller Examination holds the additional charge of Registrar Cluster University.  

Five Colleges function under Cluster University, Srinagar including Amar Singh College, SP College, Women’s College MA Road, Govt Degree College Bemina, and the College of Education Srinagar.

Senior Officials of Cluster University told Mountain Ink that an advertisement for the post was put out last year. “We had shortlisted the candidates as well but the process was stalled.”

After the new Vice-Chancellor took over, the process was started again. “We made sure that everything from our side is done,” the official said. “Cluster University has done its part of the process for the appointment of the Registrar. It’s up to the selection committee now which is headed by the Governor.”

Another official of the University said that the shortlisted candidates had not filed the required documents. “Anyways, we have completed the process from our side. The process takes some time, there’s an element of verification and other procedures which need to complete.”

The Governor’s office didn’t respond to queries from Mountain Ink.

Meanwhile, the absence of the Registrar has affected the functioning of the varsity with the officials claiming that it not only impacts the varsity but the students as well.

Earlier the students of Cluster University had written a letter to the Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha, and demanded his immediate intervention and sought his attention towards the issues they face in the University on a daily basis, and demanded their grievances be addressed as soon as possible.

The students pursuing an integrated bachelor’s degree in English from Cluster University of Srinagar (Amar Singh College campus) had accused the university authorities of being negligent, manipulative, and unjust towards them.

The students also mentioned there’s a dearth of permanent faculty; hiring contractual staff and no grievance cell has been established for addressing the student concerns to date. Vice-chancellors’ office has been kept off-limits for the students as well.

The Cluster University concept, the first of its kind in India was introduced by the Jammu and Kashmir Government in the year 2016. The Cluster University offers post-graduate and diploma courses in social sciences, liberal arts, humanities, engineering, science, teacher education, languages, entrepreneurship development, management, and other job-intensive courses.

Initially when the university started working the two universities were granted one hundred and twenty-four posts to meet the exigency of the working/ starting.

The Registrar is the main record-keeper for students at school. The Registrar’s Office handles registration for courses, course grades, transfer credits, declarations of majors and minors, requests for transcripts, and usual applications for degrees. Given that they have these records, they are often involved in functions such as tracking academic standing petitions for exceptions to requirements.