: A group of alumni of St. Stephen’s College has decided to approach the Ministry of Human Resource Development for removal of principal Valson Thampu.
They will also be asking for an audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) into the “maladministration and illegalities” allegedly perpetuated by the principal.
The “Association of old Stephanians” which is not recognised by the principal or the college met the press on Monday and made public a white paper on the principal. It ranges from the “dubious” distinctions of his qualifications to his legal expenses which had to be met by the college.
“Mr. Thampu has a Ph.D in theology, which is not recognised by the UGC and a fact-finding report by the MHRD has specifically stated that theology courses are outside regulatory purview. Besides, he has publicly stated that he finished his Ph.D in six months. This is something to be looked into,” said association member Ashish Joshi.
Advocate Sunil Mathews who has taken up the cause of several legal cases against principal Thampu said that he did not charge anything for his work, but it was quite a different story for the college. “All cases fought by Mr. Thampu personally or against the college administration has cost the college a lot of money,” he said, while some members of the association distributed details of 31 cases of litigation that had taken place or was pending in the courts since the principal took charge of the college.
There were several other former students who said that the ethos and culture of the college was being spoilt by Rev. Thampu in addition to his alleged “illegalities and victimisation.”
The institution of an award for eminent alumni has not gone down well with the other alumni. “This has spoilt the egalitarian nature of the college. All students used to be considered equal. With the institution of the award the principal has sought to distinguish old students by their material successes. Before this, there was no distinction between a former student who ran a tea shop and another student who was governor,” added Mr. Joshi.
It was also alleged that 374 laptops that were given by the university to the college for student use had not been issued for close to three years. Instead most of them had become termite infested.
There were several allegations made by the association that ranged from financial mismanagement to victimisation of teachers and students for speaking out against certain college restrictions.
This is not the first time that the principal has made unpopular news. The Delhi University Teachers’Association president and faculty member Nandita Narain gave a brief background of the issues that had angered students in the past. Most recently a student had to take legal recourse after being expelled for talking to the press about the ban of his ezine in college.
