The recently appointed NID director Ashok Mondal’s decisions has come under a scanner after a series of protests by faculty and students. Mondol, sources tell Vibes of India, has been summoned to Delhi.
Especially under criticism is Mondol’s decision to divest the leadership position of six women as chairpersons of different committees.
Ashok Mondal formally took charge on October 11 and held the first staff meeting on October 14. He reassigned faculty members with specific expertise to different disciplines and removed six women faculty members as chairpersons. However, the interaction quickly turned stormy as students demanded answers and objected to the decision.
Speaking to Vibes of India, a student who wished to remain anonymous stated that soon after taking charge, Mondal reshuffled the heads and leads of almost all departments. This mid-academic year shuffle did not sit well with faculty members and students, who were already engaged in academic activities.
However, the new director has not met the students or faculty. A student representative who wished to remain anonymous claimed, “It is eight days since we met the director to resolve our issues and get some clarity on the ongoing academic year. Despite two shuffles, the key issue of women’s representation in academic leadership and ensuring a smooth transition from old faculty to new faculty has not been resolved. On Tuesday too, representatives met the director, but the talks remained inconclusive.”
Furthermore, students pointed out that instead of lead and co-lead roles, the new list merely adds B.Des and M.Des designations. However, students have labelled the list as ‘old wine in a new bottle’, arguing that, in the name of changes, the designations of some faculty members were altered while suggestions related to several key disciplines were ignored.
NID, located in Ahmedabad, oversees the functioning of its campuses in Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar and Bengaluru.
A formal meeting was scheduled with staff on October 14 and students held a discussion with the director.
Sources indicated that the discussion covered Mondal’s vision for the institute, design approach and reasons for the recent changes, including the reassignment of women to lead roles. He assured students he was following procedure, welcomed future suggestions and emphasised freedom of expression as the institute plans to expand and develop new areas.
Furthermore, the process of appointing deans and senior leadership roles often takes a month or more, as various factors are considered, not just the core competence of the faculty. “What is the point of putting someone in a discipline where the faculty has not worked for long? It may take some time before the impact of the decision can be ascertained,” remarked a senior official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
On October 13, the NID administration sent an email detailing new responsibilities and a significant shuffle within the institute.
Students strongly objected to the replacement of female heads with male counterparts, stating that “women who are no longer in power, and because of that, we feel we don’t have enough representation in the institute” in their correspondence to the Director, demanding the withdrawal of the office order.
During an open house, Mondal explained the changes, asserting that female faculty could now focus more on teaching rather than administrative duties. However, his remarks sparked objections from the affected faculty.
One senior professor questioned whether Mondal’s statement implied that their past administrative contributions were less valuable. Another faculty member raised concerns about tokenism, pointing out that reducing women’s leadership roles to just 33% undermines true inclusivity and equity.
In response, Mondal stated that over 33% of administrative roles had been assigned to female faculty and assured that broader issues of inclusivity in recruitment and promotion would be addressed. He emphasised that several women had been given higher leadership roles on a rotational basis as part of the recent changes.
On October 21, Ashok Mondal withdrew his order regarding the reshuffle of academic and administrative responsibilities. Even as he issued a new order, faculty members noted that it was largely similar to the previous one, except for a slight increase in female representation.
Additionally, there are now separate heads for undergraduate and postgraduate programmes, which were previously leads and co-leads of disciplines, according to a source.
Some faculty members claimed that Mondal did not seek suggestions prior to issuing the second order. “There is still ambiguity, as the order issued on Monday evening stated that it is effective from Monday itself, but there is no mention of whether the previous order stands cancelled or not,” said another faculty member.
Citing a lack of “transparency and accountability” for the sake of student academics, the Student Activity Committee (SAC) of NID wrote to Mondal concerning the events that unfolded within the first three days of his joining.
Mondal has not commented on this issue as of now. He was both a student and faculty member at NID before he was appointed director. He belongs from a small village in Rural Bengal.
On October 21, the director’s page on NID’s official website saw an update featuring Mondal’s name and picture, with the message section displaying ‘Page under construction’.
As the protests and standoff continued between students and the Director, faculty members also became involved. Several senior faculty members from different disciplines wrote to the Director expressing their resentment towards significant changes in their roles without any prior consultation.
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