The Mahatma Gandhi University Syndicate on Thursday decided to freeze its earlier decision to cancel the affiliation of 38 colleges that did not provide infrastructure on their campuses. These institutions have been given one-year time to provide the facilities.
The first round of encounter between the UDF-appointed syndicate and the Left-leaning organisations passed off peacefully as it decided to postpone the controversial items on the agenda to the next meeting.
The syndicate and the Left-leaning organisations were on a confrontationist path in the May 23 session of the syndicate when it wanted to steamroll the earlier decision to accord recognition to nearly 80 colleges and 1,200 new programmes. The meeting had ended up in pandemonium and the syndicate had sought police protection for the peaceful conduct of Thursday’s session. Though the Thursday’s agenda had all the controversial issues, the syndicate took a conciliatory approach when the four government nominees objected to the issues.
Meanwhile, the Left organisations staged a protest march against the university authorities for supporting private managements. They wanted the government to oust the syndicate and launch a vigilance inquiry into the alleged irregularities. They also alleged that the syndicate had sanctioned new institutions and programmes without any criteria and that this would bring burden on the government.
