St Stephen’s College faculty members have petitioned the Governing Body (GB) to defer any decision on amending the college’s constitution until principal Valson Thampu’s retirement. They have also urged it to study the legal and procedural ramifications involved. A total of 37 of the 53 permanent faculty members of the college, including seven departmental heads and the dean of academics, have sent a petition to the GB, the statutory body which will take a decision on the amendment issue in its meeting scheduled on November 30.
“We strongly urge the Governing Body to reject the proposed constitution and postpone consideration of any amendments until after a new Bishop of Delhi and a new principal have been appointed,” they said in a petition to GB.
The faculty members alleged that the proposed amendments were a move by Thampu to become the “most powerful member” of the SC. “Thampu is due to retire in February 2016. If the proposed constitution is adopted, he will immediately become, along with the chairman, the most powerful member of the SC just as his tenure ends. Given that the change in the constitution of the college cannot be regarded as desperately urgent — even if it is considered important — it is pertinent to ask whether it might not be best, in the interest of propriety, to wait until Thampu’s tenure at St Stephen’s expires and a new principal is appointed,” they said in the petition.
Thampu, who is retiring in February next year, has come up with a draft amendment in which he has proposed that the principal be empowered to take disciplinary action against students or staff irrespective of the GB’s opinion. He has also called for giving a major say to Church of North India (CNI) in the functioning of the college, handing over the faculty appointments and admissions to its Supreme Council (SC) and amending the composition of the GB. The amendment also proposes to replace St Stephen’s College Trust, which currently runs the college, with a proposed St Stephen’s Educational Society that will have the power to establish Stephen’s-like private institutions across the country.
The draft amendment Thumpu proposed empowers the principal to take disciplinary action against students or staff irrespective of the GB’s opinion. He has also called for giving a major say to Church of North India (CNI) in the functioning of the college, handing over the faculty appointments and admissions to its Supreme Council (SC) and amending the composition of the GB. The amendment also proposes to replace St Stephen’s College Trust, which currently runs the college, with a proposed St Stephen’s Educational Society that will have the power to establish Stephen’s-like private institutions across the country.