Alleging that St Stephen’s College Governing Body has approved amendments to its 102-year-old constitution despite it being “truncated”, the institution’s staff association on Thursday approached principal Valson Thampu demanding that due elections of teacher representatives in the GB be urgently conducted.
The 18-member Governing Body (GB) of the college is supposed to have four teacher representatives. However, at present there are only two nominees as elections for the remaining two are due.
Stephen’s had approved certain amendments in its constitution in a meeting of the GB on Monday despite eight out of 18 members, including the teacher nominees abstaining from the same, resulting in a truncated GB. However, Thampu as well as the GB members are tight-lipped about whether the amendment draft was passed as proposed or with certain changes.
The staff association on Thursday decided to ask Thampu to immediately hold the elections as any decision taken by a truncated GB is deemed as illegal,” a staff association members said.
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 members, irrespective of the GB’s opinion.
He has 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 composition of the Governing Body (GB).
The amendment also proposes to replace St Stephen’sCollege Trust, which currently runs the college, with a StStephen’s Educational Society that will have the power toestablish Stephen’s-like private institutions across the country.