Can girl students of any college be asked to sing and dance at weddings to earn money for their institution? The administrator of Mathura’s Prem Devi College, Govind Prasad Chaudhary, has been accused of doing exactly this.
Incensed parents of several girl students of the college have lodged a complaint with Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati against Chaudhary for ordering this outrageous plan. They said the administrator had asked the principal to shortlist beautiful girls and train them in singing and dancing to enable them to perform at weddings and bring in money to develop the college.
Local Bahujan Samaj Party MLA Rajkumar Rawat has joined the parents’ campaign by requesting the state’s Secondary Education Minister Rangnath Mishra to look into the matter and take appropriate action.
In a letter purportedly written by the administrator to college principal Sumanlata Pal, it was stated that Rs 4-5 lakh could be arranged every year by such performances.
The letter also threatened all women teachers with stern action if they failed to implement the plan.
When contacted by the HT on Tuesday, Chaudhary said the charge was a “well-hatched conspiracy to implicate me in a false case and malign my image.” He, however, admitted that as part of the curriculum, girls were also trained in singing and dancing. “When they perform outside, they do get gifts and rewards. There is nothing wrong in that. But the money is not used for development of the institution,” Chaudhary said unabashedly.
{{/usCountry}}When contacted by the HT on Tuesday, Chaudhary said the charge was a “well-hatched conspiracy to implicate me in a false case and malign my image.” He, however, admitted that as part of the curriculum, girls were also trained in singing and dancing. “When they perform outside, they do get gifts and rewards. There is nothing wrong in that. But the money is not used for development of the institution,” Chaudhary said unabashedly.
{{/usCountry}}Chaudhary claimed that the letter to the principal was forged. “My official letter pad was stolen recently and is now being misuse,” he said.
Similarly, the principal denied having received any such letter and attributed the controversy to “internal college politics”. But, some students told HT that the administrator and principal were trying to save their skin. They also alleged that Chaudhary demanded portions of scholarships and an additional Rs 500 from each student for the college’s development.