After prolonged arguments, Bangalore University’s (BU) Academic Council approved the interim report of the Task Force on Teacher Education on 99 BEd colleges in its meeting on Friday.
The report, which recommends disaffiliation of 43 BEd colleges for non-compliance with norms, will now be placed before the Syndicate, the highest decision-making authority. Some members wondered if the Academic Council was the right body to deal with affiliation matters.
“I think the university should seek legal opinion on the report or directly place it before the Syndicate,” said Ramachandra Swamy, a member. The Academic Council was qualified to debate it. The report listed 23 colleges for “gross irregularities”, and 20 colleges as “other non-functional colleges”. Twelve colleges, which had not got recognition of the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE), had been recommended for disaffiliation. Only 26 colleges had been recommended for renewal of affiliation.
Admissions for 2012-13 in 18 colleges had been recommended for suspension.
MLA walks out
Government nominee and Bagepalli MLA N Sampangi, while appreciating the Task Force for its comprehensive fact finding, accused it of targeting linguistic minority colleges. Referring to Dharmaguru College of Education, run by Nidumamidi Mutt in Bagepalli, his constituency, the MLA said, “How can a college run by a religious trust be bad?”
“Aren’t you ashamed to drag religion into an academic meeting?” Task Force chairperson H Karan Kumar asked Sampangi, who walked out.
Who signed the meeting notice?
Bangalore: More than an hour was spent on discussing who signed the meeting notice, as members alleged that the signatory was an unauthorised person. Usually, it is the Registrar who signs meeting notices that are sent to members.
Acting VC N Rangaswamy and in-charge Registrar Kemparaju, clarified that it was Registrar (Evaluation) R K Somashekhar who signed the notice “in the interest of the university.”
“Somashekhar was made member-secretary for the Syndicate meeting on November 22. On November 23 afternoon, Kemparaju was appointed as in-charge Registrar. Somashekhar must have presumed that he could sign the meeting notice in this time window,” Rangaswamy said.
Somashekhar said he followed the VC’s oral instruction to sign the notice.
‘New Inquiry Committee’
Following the resignation of retired IGP S Ramakrishna acting VC N Rangaswamy assured the Academic Council that a new inquiry commission comprising senior professors would be constitutes before or after the next meeting on December 14.