Slamming outgoing St Stephen's principal Valson Thampu's proposal for amending the college's constitution, its faculty members have petitioned the Governing Body (GB) to defer any decision in this regard until his retirement and 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.
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 faculty members also 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.
The Stephen's faculty members further urged that any such
move should be properly studied.
"While it is important that changes of such magnitude are made after consultations with the matrix of authorities -- Delhi University, UGC, Human Resource Development Ministry -- within which Stephen's and all educational institutions of any nature, whether minority or other, must function in this country, we would also like to highlight some of the possible legalities and ramifications of the proposed change," they said.
They also alleged that the proposed draft is not reflective of amendments but "dissolution" of the constitution.
"Though the proposed changes have been presented as an amendment to the existing constitution, given the sheer magnitude of the changes proposed and the metamorphosis of the status of the college, it is questionable whether the draft presented can be regarded as an amendment -- it may be better regarded as a dissolution of the old constitution and its replacement by a new one," they claimed.
The petition further questions if Thampu took into account issues about whether "Delhi University will continue to recognise St Stephen's as an affiliated college if this change is made" and whether "the University Grants Commission would continue to fund St Stephen's College?"
Amidst the claims by the college faculty, attempts to contact Thampu for his reaction proved unsuccessful although the Stephen's principal has maintained that it is the Supreme Council's decision to go for the amendments and there is no violation of procedures or law in the same.
