DU delaying formation of governing bodies to shield corrupt officials: Manish Sisodia

Delhi education minister Manish Sisodia wrote to Delhi University (DU) vice-chancellor Yogesh Tyagi on Monday alleging that the varsity was deliberately delaying

Delhi education minister Manish Sisodia wrote to Delhi University (DU) vice-chancellor Yogesh Tyagi on Monday alleging that the varsity was deliberately delaying the formation of governing bodies (GBs) in 28 Delhi government-funded colleges to shield corrupt officials. Sisodia also asked the varsity to ensure that the process of forming GBs is not delayed to prevent administrative crisis.

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Vice-chancellor Yogesh Tyagi did not respond to calls and text messages seeking his comments on the matter.

Across colleges, GBs take all decisions for the smooth functioning of a college, including the appointment of teaching and non-teaching staff. The 10-member governing bodies in these colleges have people nominated by both the university and the Delhi government. The tenure of the GBs in 28 Delhi government colleges expired in March 2019.

Since then, the Delhi government and the varsity have been at the loggerheads with the DU administration over the issue often leading to a delay in the release of grants to these colleges.

“The inordinate delays in constituting the Governing Bodies cannot merely be an act of omission. It now seems like a deliberate attempt to ensure that proper oversight mechanism is not put in place,” Sisodia wrote in the letter to Tyagi on Monday adding that he receives complaints of malpractices and corruption in these colleges.

The six names in question became the final bone of contention after DU’s Executive Council recommended sending these names back to the state government for reconsideration on March 13 this year. A week later, the government said that these six names were to be continued.

“It was decided that if these names come back, they will be treated as approved and to be sent to the respective colleges. On May 13, university forwarded all names approved by the EC except these six names which are in violation of EC decision. This is not only to delay the process further but also to tilt the balance in the GB formation,” said EC member Rajesh Jha.

Pratyush Vatsala, principal of Lakshmibai College, said, “We have started the initial process for the formation of governing bodies. We started contacting the names forwarded by the varsity to take various undertakings. We got the names over ten days ago and it is unlikely that the governing bodies were formed in any of the 28 colleges amid a lockdown.”

EC member Rajesh Jha said that many colleges are “buying time on one pretext or the other” over the formation of GBs in all colleges. “This is like a pocket veto. Some colleges are delaying on the trivial pretext of missing phone number or email ids of members. The university is withholding the names of teacher representatives in GB over political consideration,” he said.