Hitting out against his bête noire Mylarappa (who has a case pending against him for abusing a police officer), Prabhu Dev accuses the registrar of continuously stalling all reform initiatives at the university. “The Bangalore School of Economics was sabotaged; the School of Communication was not allowed to take off, and undergraduate exams have been postponed by three weeks…,” he says.
The “atmosphere of hatred” and “onslaught” are references to the string of controversies which have been plaguing this once highly-reputed university during the past year since Mylarappa, an academic of provincial antecedents, was appointed registrar. In December last year, 150 students led by the ABVP (Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad) — the ruling BJP government’s students wing — laid siege to the university’s Central College campus protesting discrepancies in marks cards. This agitation was followed by a spate of demonstrations and rallies staged by postgraduate students and non-teaching staff on BU’s sprawling 1,100-acre Jnana Bharathi campus. At the time, Prabhu Dev had accused Mylarappa of orchestrating the protests in connivance with some university syndicate members, a daily slugfest between the registrar and vice chancellor gleefully reported in the media.
Academically, the situation is no better. Faculty shortages, caste-based faculty appointments, outdated curriculums and poor learning outcomes have plunged the university’s reputation into the pits. These problems are compounded by constant political interference in the appointment of members to the university’s syndicate — BU’s highest decision-making authority.
“Persistent political interference has ruined Bangalore University. Corruption is rampant and caste and political controversies abound. Prabhu Dev was enthusiastic and had some good ideas about reforming the university but didn’t find any support in the syndicate. The first reform initiative required is autonomy of the BU syndicate whose members should be renowned educationists — as provided by the Karnataka State Universities Act, 2000 — rather than political appointees. Secondly, faculty appointments must be made transparently on merit; the number of academic departments needs to be reduced and democratic processes of governance and accountability established. The problems of the university are manifold and run deep. Time is running out,” says Prof. A.S. Seetharamu, education advisor to the Karnataka government.
Meanwhile, the state government has appointed N. Rangaswamy, interim vice chancellor who has promised his stint “will be free of controversies” and he will ensure “decisions on important issues are speedily taken”. But as with his predecessor, good intentions are unlikely to be translated into reality given the deep rot that has permeated the foundations of this once reputed university.
Summiya Yasmeen (Bangalore)