New Delhi : A group of alumni and teachers of St Stephen’s College today opposed principal Valson Thampu’s move to amend the 102-year-old Constitution of the premier institute, and said they will seek the intervention of President Pranab Mukherjee and the HRD Minister in this regard.
Former test cricketer and an alumnus Kirti Azad described the present situation at his alma mater as “disgusting” and said the issue will be raised in Parliament by the MPs who are alumni of the college.
“There are at least 17 alumni of St Stephen’s who sit in the Parliament. The issues including the non-democratic functioning of the college administration and proposed changes in the Constitution will be raised in Parliament on Monday,” he said at a press briefing.
Thampu, who is retiring in February next year, had come up with a draft amendment in which he had proposed that the principal be empowered to take disciplinary action against students or staff irrespective of the Governing Body’s opinion.
He also called for giving a major say to the Church of North India (CNI) in the functioning of the college, handing over the powers to appoint faculty and admissions to its Supreme Council (SC) and recasting the GB.
The amendment in the Constitution also proposed to replace St Stephen’s College Trust, which currently runs the college, with a St Stephen’s Educational Society that will have the power to establish Stephen’s-like private institutions across the country.
