KTWV 08 Issue 41: Carrying on the farce

The farce about the appointment of a principal for the college seems to be continuing. This is from the Express India web site:

Appoint principal in Stephen’s, says varsity
Five months after St Stephen’s College appointed Rev Valson Thampu as Officer on Special Duty, Delhi University has asked the Church of North India (CNI) to find a principal for the college. The letter, sent to the Bishop of CNI Rev Sunil Kumar Singh in the second week of November, says the OSD’s appointment could not be ratified as it is “not in accordance with the university statutes”.

A university source said, “Now that former college principal Dr Anil Wilson has resigned, there is a clear vacancy at the college. The university has also asked the college to advertise for the post of principal.”

Thampu was appointed OSD this May, after then principal Wilson went on leave to serve as the vice-chancellor of Himachal University. Wilson later sought voluntary retirement from the college.

Thampu’s six-month tenure as OSD is nearing its end, and the university has now asked St Stephen’s to appoint a principal through “correct procedure”. On May 18, the university had asked the college to suggest three names for appointment as principal. The college, however, sent a letter seeking ratification of Thampu’s appointment as OSD.

University Vice Chancellor Prof Deepak Pental confirmed that the letter was sent with directions to appoint a principal. “Every college has to follow the Delhi University ordinance,” he said, “and there is no way norms can be relaxed.” Rev Sunil Kumar Singh refused to comment.

If the intention was to drive Dr. Anil Wilson from holding on to the post of principal was an objective, that has succeeded. Diverting attention to other issues, however noble, as admission policies for backward classes, will not succeed in the long term.

I hope the college administering authorities will spin themselves out of this cycle of bad publicity which is not good for either the staff or student morale and certainly not good for the image of an institution we much love!

Founders Day is fast approaching. I hope sense will prevail and there will be some good news to inform you by then.

KTWV 08 Issue 39: Issues continue

I am not surprised that the issues regarding the appointment of the Principal, as well as the Vice Principal and the Bursar, are still continuing.

Yesterday's New Delhi edition of The Hindu had a report Notices issued over St. Stephen's appointments that says that the petition states that the appointment of Rev. Valson Thampu as the Officer on Special Duty is illegal and as there is no Principal, the appointment of the Vice Principal is also not legal, and also the appointment of the Bursar is also illegal.

NEW DELHI: The National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions (NCMEI) on Thursday issued notices to Delhi University, Chairman of the Governing Body and Supreme Council of St. Stephen’s College and the University Grants Commission on a petition alleging illegal appointments of college Principal Valson Thampu, Vice-Principal M.S. Frank and Bursar N. Raghunathan.

It pains me greatly to see Stephanians, anonymous letter writers, a Bishop, a Principal not acting as Principal but enjoying his posting as a Vice Chanceller in another University, and other grown men behaving in a manner which is totally non-Stephanian in character, and certainly not Christian.

With this sort of disturbing story hanging around the neck, no amount of great work or positive programmes will be able to get the necessary traction, and the only thing that suffers is the wonderful name of our College.

I wish that people would learn to work with each other in the spirit of what was instilled in me as a Stephanian in the early 60s. And for wanting that I am being labelled as a fundamentalist Christian!