Mumbai: The Shiv Sena’s students’ wing has demanded the resignations of the State Education Minister and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Mumbai (MU), alleging a scam in the online assessment and admission procedures.
Yuva Sena chief Aditya Thackeray met Governor Ch. Vidyasagar Rao on Monday, demanding an enquiry into the ‘mismanagement and chaos’ in the tendering process of the online assessment system, which has resulted in delay of academic cycles. “An enquiry must happen into why was the online assessment opted for? How was the tender process? Since it has failed so badly, is it a scam?!” he said on Twitter.
Mr. Thackeray said that by experimenting with a failing online system, the State government and Education Department are playing with the careers of 17 lakh students. He said the MU is not equipped to handle the load of online admissions and assessments. “Not even in Mumbai, even in the interiors. The way online assessment has failed and the amount of money spent it seems like a major scam,” Mr. Thackeray tweeted.
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Soon after the meeting, the Governor held a meeting with officials from the State Education Department, and the Vice-Chancellor.
Education Minister Vinod Tawde said, “There is only one VC referred to in the memorandum, i.e. Sanjay Deshmukh. But while Mr. Thackeray has demanded the removal of the Education Minister, there are more than one Education Ministers in the State. He was probably seeking the resignation of the Minister of State (for Housing and Higher & Technical Education) Ravindra Waikar.”
Mr. Waikar belongs to the Shiv Sena.
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(With inputs from Renni Abraham)