Varsity not to act on inquiry panel reports on BEd colleges

No report submitted by the Local Inquiry Committees (LICs) on B Ed colleges affiliated to Bangalore University (BU) will be accepted. Their fate will instead be decided by the four-member special task force.

The university’s Academic Council resolved at a meeting on Tuesday that there was no urgency to grant or renew affiliation of B Ed colleges as the new academic year (2012-13) would begin only in December. In addition, the varsity will seek rental/lease agreements, duly registered with the Department of Stamps and Registration, from BEd colleges.

The move comes in the wake of reports that several colleges lack proper infrastructure.

Zaheda Mulla, a Government nominee to BU Syndicate, said that several colleges had not maintained clear legal records. A college received approval from law course but it was running a BSc programme, she said. 

Task force

H Karan Kumar, chairman of the task force, suggested that a circular be sent, instructing colleges to furnish land/rental/lease agreement. Accordingly, a resolution was adopted.

K B Vedamurthy, gubernatorial nominee to the Syndicate, faced some uncomfortable questions while presenting the report of an LIC chaired by him. 

He allegedly drew a demand draft for Rs 49,000 from his personal account on behalf of Pushpagiri Education Trust on December 23, 2011, after being nominated to the Syndicate. 

‘Personal issue’

Vedamurthy first claimed it was a personal issue he didn’t want to discuss. When pressed hard, he said that he was not associated with the Trust and had only lent it the money. At this juncture, a member wondered if Vedamurthy’s report could be accepted given the disclosure. Vice-Chancellor N Prabhu Dev then said that the report would be seen only after an inquiry.

Kumar later told reporters that the task force would visit the remaining 87 B Ed colleges to ascertain the facilities. A while after the meeting, representatives of St Francis B Ed College, Bangalore, gheraoed Kumar.  

They were upset with him for submitting answer scripts confiscated from the principal’s chamber. 

“We’d fix you. We spend crores on opening a college and you defame us,” they said, in an apparent threat. Kumar later said that he would seek police protection for visits to colleges.