Delhi University Vice-Chancellor Dinesh Singh has responded to the Human Resources Development (HRD) Ministry’s show-cause notice seeking his position regarding the introduction of the controversial FYUP and other allegations against him. Singh sent his reply to the Ministry on Tuesday evening, within the 15-day deadline set for the same, highly-placed HRD Ministry sources said on Wednesday. However, both the Ministry and the Delhi University remained tight-lipped over the arguments put forth by the V-C in his reply. The reply, which, sources said, runs into over 100 pages, is currently being examined by the Ministry and it will send its recommendations to the Visitor to DU, President Pranab Mukherjee. While the Delhi University Act does not confer any power on the Government to recall the incumbent Vice-Chancellor, Ministry officials said that they can invoke the General Services Records to get the V-C removed by the appointing authority.
Apart from inquiring as to the legality of introducing the Four-Year Undergraduate Programme (FYUP), the Ministry had sought Singh’s reply on the opening of B.Tech courses under the varsity without due clearance from the AICTE and the diversion of funds to the tune of Rs172 crore meant for OBC students to buy laptops. Singh was issued a show-cause notice on March 17 after the Visitor’s nod. The DU V-C has faced controversy ever since the FYUP was brought in, allegedly without the due clearances. His tenure as the DU V-C ends in October this year.
The FYUP was scrapped in June last year after the NDA Government came to office and following pressure from the UGC that it be done away with. Also, Singh has also been facing flak from the DU Teachers’ Association (DUTA), which has been demanding his removal since last year. DUTA had also released a White Paper accusing the V-C of administrative and financial irregularities. DUTA had also demanded a Visitorial Inquiry into the allegations and sought the intervention of the President. Taking cognisance of the DUTA White Paper, the HRD Ministry had asked the varsity to send a point-wise response to the allegations made therein. A committee set up by the Ministry to look into the alleged diversion of funds is also understood to have found the V-C guilty in its report submitted to the Ministry.
The HRD Ministry had also questioned the V-C in January this year about the preparations made in respect of the introduction of the choice-based credit transfer scheme from the coming academic session and the launch of the Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC). The Ministry had also forwarded to the President a letter written by CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury highlighting alleged irregularities by the V-C in the varsity’s functioning.