JNU VC continues to hold official accommodation at IIT-Delhi

Four years after he took charge as Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) vice chancellor, M Jagadesh Kumar still holds an official accommodation at IIT-Delhi, besides a residence at the university campus.

Kumar, who used to teach at the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi and still takes classes there, is expected to return to the prestigious educational establishment when his tenure ends next year.

His retention of the IIT accommodation, however, is based on a now-revoked IIT rule.

According to officials, prior to 2017 the institute allowed professors to hold on to their accommodation for five years if they were appointed vice chancellors of central universities or directors of other IITs.

In 2017, the institute amended the policy to reduce the duration of free house retention to one year. However, there has been no retrospective implementation of the new policy.

"Technically, it's not a violation of the norms but he himself should have surrendered the accommodation considering there are faculty members who have been on waiting list," an IIT official said on condition of anonymity.

The issue of the JNU vice chancellor holding two official accommodations has also been raised by the JNU Teachers Association (JNUTA) in its complaint to the Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry about alleged irregularities by Kumar.

However, there was no response from Kumar on the issue.