Patiala Two months after he was granted an extension for three years in September this year, Punjabi University, Patiala, vice-chancellor (V-C) BS Ghuman has resigned from his post. The university has been facing financial difficulties and Ghuman had been unable to get the institution out of the mess it was in, since taking charge in 2017.
He submitted his resignation to Punjab governor VP Singh Badnore, who is the chancellor of the university. Badnore forwarded the resignation to the Punjab chief secretary and the chief principal secretary to the CM.
In his resignation sent on November 17 (Tuesday), Ghuman has cited personal reasons for the decision. He has thanked the Punjab chief minister for giving him a chance to serve the university and also granting him the extension in service of three years in September. He then lists his achievements, before concluding by writing, “Due to personal reasons, I am not keen to continue.”
Ghuman was under pressure as his loyalists had turned foes and launched an indefinite protest against him over issues like timely payment of salaries and some of his administrative decisions. He also failed to take action against guilty officials and faculty members, who had been indicted in inquiries.
He was perceived as passing the buck, even as the Punjab government was pushing him to take action against persons who had been illegally recruited by violating the norms of the University Grants Commission (UGC) and on the basis of fake caste certificates.
{{/usCountry}}He was perceived as passing the buck, even as the Punjab government was pushing him to take action against persons who had been illegally recruited by violating the norms of the University Grants Commission (UGC) and on the basis of fake caste certificates.
{{/usCountry}}Ghuman had also been demanding a one-time help of Rs 300 crore from the state government to bail out the university, which is under a debt of Rs 150 crore. His decision not to attend office, even as the lockdown had been lifted also drew severe criticism.
Ghuman didn’t take calls. Higher education secretary Rahul Bhandari confirmed that he had received Ghuman’s resignation. “The government will take a decision on it,” he added.