JOIN USThe recent decision of the government not to allow any of the Syndicate members to be part of the Local Inquiry Committees (LICs) constituted by the Bangalore University has evoked scepticism among academicians in the university about the manner in which the decision will be implemented.
The university has been directed to keep Syndicate members out of these committees, involved in crucial decisions such as college affiliation and recommending student intake in affiliated colleges. The decision was taken by the government to retain objectivity in the affiliation process. The government’s direction also specifies to the university to constitute LICs with only subject experts.
A former Syndicate member who recently completed his tenure had a contradictory opinion on the decision. He felt the very purpose of appointing Syndicate members in the LICs was to ensure objectivity.
“The subject expert is likely to be a professor in the university. Imagine how objective the report will be, if he goes to inspect the colleges. There are chances that there will be a biased recommendation,” the member felt.
Another Syndicate member, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said even though the term 'subject expert' may have been clearly defined in the rule, in actuality, there are many incompetent people in the garb of experts. The university will have to handle the matter with utmost honesty and allow only the best of the lot to be part of the LICs,” said a Syndicate member, requesting anonymity. As stated by vice-chancellor Prof B Thimme Gowda, if a Syndicate member is also a subject expert, the member can be part of the LIC - not in the capacity of a Syndicate member, but purely as an expert.
“On one hand, the government's decision is fair considering that the LIC reports have to be eventually passed by the Syndicate. If a Syndicate member is part of a particular LIC, the member will sit on judgment of his or her own report, which will not produce objective work. My concern lies in how these experts are going to be chosen by the university.”
“Not allowing members to be part of the LIC is one thing. Even otherwise, the Syndicate needs to be cleaned up. The government must weigh its options before proposing someone as an academician and appointing the person to the university's apex decision-making body,” the member said.