The names of 140 people to be appointed in governing bodies of 28 colleges under Delhi Government by the previous Arvind Kejriwal Government have been put in abeyance. The Arvind Kejriwal Government was in a tearing hurry to change the chairman and members of the governing bodies of colleges as it deemed them as appointees of the previous Sheila Dikshit Government.
While doing so, the Arvind Kejriwal Government had displayed scant regard to the laiddown procedures and packed the committees with its own supporters and sympathisers. The list was finalised on February 14, the day Arvind Kejriwal resigned as Chief Minister of Delhi.
Top sources said that over a hundred names were included in the list without screening and scrutiny as claimed by the Kejriwal Government when they assumed office on December 28. Sources said most of these persons were AAP members and were not even remotely associated with academics. lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung is reported to have declined accepting the list of 140 members of Delhi University governing body prepared by Kejriwal Government as the members were picked without forming the screening committee. With the lt Governor deciding to put it on the hold, this will further delay the formation of governing bodies in 28 colleges of Delhi University ever since the term of previous body expired in November 2013. The Government body of these colleges will function without nominees of State Government.
The motive of the Arvind Kejriwal Government and Education Minister Manish Sisodia also came under cloud as he cleared the list of 140 members on February 14, the day Arvind Kejriwal and his Cabinet colleagues quit the Government. In the absence of five nominees from the Delhi Government, all the colleges continue their functioning under truncated governing body.
Sources said that the AAP Government had proposed that the body should not consist of members having political affiliation. In turn, the AAP Government wanted to get rid of those members of the past governing body who had links with previous Congress Government. It was adamant to have people having strong intellectual and social standing. Though the proposed idea was good, the implementation was extremely shoddy in the sense that there was no screening committee in place to choose the right candidate. In fact, the screening committee to pick the final 140 members out of 240 applicants was never formed but the final list of 140 was ready by February 14. This gave rise to speculation in Delhi University academic circles that majority of AAP volunteers were accommodated in the final list.
Kejriwal Government had promised that the members will be selected through a process of screening. Kejriwal had said that only eminent academicians, experts in the field of higher education especially in matters like accounts and financial management, administration of higher education institutions, alumni of these colleges and persons of repute having vast experience in management of institutions of higher learning could be appointed in the governing bodies.