Three days after two ministers inspected the Jnanabharathi campus of Bangalore University following a series of complaints, the State government shot off a rather strong letter to Vice-Chancellor N Prabhu Dev, reminding him of his duties.
In the letter, Siddaiah, Principal Secretary, Higher Education, has accused Prabhu Dev of violating various provisions of the Karnataka State Universities Act, 2000.
The former had accompanied the Minister for Higher Education, C T Ravi, and the Law Minister, Suresh Kumar, during their visit to BU on August 6. They had later said that they were “alarmed” at the sorry state of affairs in the university.
Siddaiah took umbrage at the V-C’s failure to convene a meeting of the varsity’s Syndicate since last January, and reminded him that as per Section 28(2) of the Act, Syndicate meetings should be convened at least eight times a year and the gap between two meetings should not be of more than four weeks.
Issues unaddressed
“It’s the V-C’s duty to convene Syndicate meetings. (But in the absence of these meetings), many issues pertaining to the university have gone unaddressed. Several problems are compounded as no decisions have been taken,” Siddaiah wrote in the letter to Prabhu Dev on Thursday.
He also objected to the V-C’s decision of conducting Syndicate meetings through circulars. The grant and renewal of affiliation of colleges was such an important matter that it cannot be decided by eliciting members’ views through circulars and without ensuring a debate, Siddaiah said. The practice violates Section 59 of the said Act.
The V-C’s “failure” to convene the Syndicate meetings was delaying not only the affiliation process but also the admission of students and the start of new courses, Siddaiah observed.
Prabhu Dev’s refusal to work out of the Jnanabharathi campus also annoyed him. “The university is in a state of unrest. The disagreement between Prabhu Dev and Registrar (Administration) B C Mylarappa have come to the government’s notice,” Siddaiah said. “It’s shameful that the entire system has broken down. The university’s reputation has been sullied.”
Siddaiah said that the condition of students’ hostels at the Jnanabharathi campus was “worrisome”.
“The lack of drinking water in the hostel and the shabby condition of toilets there pose great danger to students’ health. It reflects the lethargy of the authorities concerned,” he remarked.
He directed Prabhu Dev to immediately convene a meeting of the Syndicate, discuss all the pending issues pertaining to construction, maintenance, etc, and take appropriate decisions.