Students question post-doctoral fellowship selection at Savitribai Phule Pune University

Time of India

10-05-2025

Pune: Students who were not selected for Savitribai Phule Pune University's post-doctoral fellowship have raised concerns over alleged irregularities in the process. Applicants and student activists have claimed that some of the selection panels did not have subject experts, and in one case, have alleged nepotism — pointing to the selection of a former HoD's daughter.
The university advertised the fellowship in Sept last year and recently published a list of 14 selected candidates.
A few days ago, senate member Krushna Bandhalkar wrote to the vice-chancellor, urging him to cancel the published selection list, order a formal investigation into the matter, and conduct fresh in-camera interviews to ensure transparency.
"Several students flagged serious issues. Being a public university, it is bound to follow reservation norms during the selection of candidates, which were clearly violated. Moreover, some of the selected candidates are reportedly related to serving or retired university officials, raising concerns of nepotism. There are also allegations of money being exchanged for selection. Given the gravity of these claims, we request the VC to scrap the current process and announce fresh interview dates with a more transparent, in-camera procedure," Bandhalkar said in the letter.
Rahul Sasane, a student activist, alleged discrepancies in the selection process, pointing out that although the university has nearly 50 departments, only 14 students were selected. "In fact, students were chosen from just six departments, with some departments seeing multiple selections while the rest were completely overlooked," he said.
Moreover, while most fellowships have an age limit of 50, this one was inexplicably capped at 32, he said. "There are also serious concerns about favouritism and the lack of subject experts on the selection panel, as raised by several students."
Sasane said that a letter was submitted to the vice-chancellor demanding the cancellation of the published list and implementation of a fresh, transparent process. "The university must also ensure that applications for these posts are invited annually. After the fellowship was initiated in 2019, no selections were made until the latest advertisement in Sept 2024."
Chhaya Pandharkar, a PhD holder from the Hindi department and one of the rejected applicants, raised questions over the transparency. "There was no subject expert from the Hindi department on the three-member selection panel. I filed an RTI to understand how marks were distributed, but the reply provided no clarity on the criteria or how scores were awarded out of 100 to each candidate."
Pandharkar also pointed out discrepancies in the number of fellowships awarded. "The advertisement mentioned that typically 20 post-doctoral fellowships would be granted, but only 14 were given. Some of the selected candidates lacked complete documentation. Without subject experts or clear marking parameters, how can we trust the process? At the very least, the university should have awarded the full 20 fellowships as advertised," she added.
University officials could not be reached for comments.
Protest against removal of Buddha statue
Students staged a protest at the university's main building on Thursday, demanding the re-installation of a Buddha statue that was removed a day before from the education department. They said if the statue, a gift from foreign students, was not restored by Buddha Purnima on May 12, they would intensify the agitation.
A university official said that the statue, which stands 5.5 feet tall, must comply with certain rules and regulations before it can be re-installed. "We will examine all aspects — who gifted it, how it was installed, and whether it can be re-installed— before taking an appropriate decision."