Ex-VC dubs Bhardwaj worst chancellor

Broadside speak

Former vice-chancellor of Bangalore University M S Thimmappa has said Chancellor H R Bhardwaj “is working against the interests of higher education in the State.” 

 

In an elaborate Facebook post on February 14, Thimmappa said the present chancellor “is the worst among all chancellors Karnataka has seen.”

Former chancellors like Kursheed Alam Khan, Tara Devi or T N Chaturvedi had conducted themselves gracefully, Thimmappa said.

The post read: “The present chancellor indulges in flagrant violation of the law (acts, statutes, ordinances and regulations), supports and encourages the corrupt and mal-practitioners even after judicial indictment on them (continuing in-charge VC against rules, inaction on the two VCs against a proven criminal charges of the heinous kind).”

Thimmappa drew attention to the higher education minister presenting a Bill in the Legislature seeking more powers to the pro-chancellor.  The powers sought were a say in the appointment of VCs, to order inquiry and take action on his own, set up a board with the higher education minister as the chairman for inter-university transfer of teachers and closing departments that fail to attract more than 10 students for two consecutive years. Incidentally, the higher education minister is the pro-chancellor of all universities.

“The minister wants to assume more power because, apparently, the chancellor (governor), who has all powers now, is working against the interests of higher education in the State,” Thimmappa said. “Imagine what would happen if both the chancellor and the pro-chancellor are not ‘all right’ in a given time—a deadly mix of poison, a death knell to the cause of higher education in the state.”  Thimmappa said closing down departments on the pretext of inadequate students reflected on the high-handedness of the government and a lack of understanding of the centres of higher learning.

“It is the contribution and adding to the knowledge rather than mere dissemination of knowledge that is of utmost importance in higher education and, as such, research must play a preeminent role there,” he said. Even if a particular class had less students, teachers could continue with research in that subject, he contended.  He warned that transfer of teachers could turn into a source of income for the officials concerned since corruption is prevalent in government transfers.

Speaking to Deccan Herald, Thimmappa said: “What I have posted there is truly my observation and because it concerns higher education in the State, the matter was posted in public domain.”