Days after a student from the Institute of Chemical Technology (ICT) accused the institution of alleged financial irregularities, ICT has decided to set up a committee to probe whether to file a case against the student, institute registrar R R Deshmukh said on Tuesday.
On May 18, ICT student Sarjerao Dholtade, also the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad city joint secretary, had told mediapersons that the institute had not returned excess fees paid by the students even after it was found that its fee structure was arbitrary and not in tune with the guidelines of the Directorate of Technical Education.
Dholtade is a PhD student in chemical engineering.
A statement issued by the ABVP’s Mumbai office had also said that ICT has not registered its courses with the Maha-Direct Benefit Transfer portal (DBT). “Out of 12, only two courses are registered, thereby causing great difficulty to the students,” it had said. DBT portal is a state government initiative, where all colleges and institutions register their courses for the convenience of students.
The statement had also accused ICT Vice-Chancellor G D Yadav of using the designation of a V-C much before it was approved by the Board of Governors.
On Tuesday, ABVP hosted another media interaction after it learnt that an urgent meeting was called by Yadav with the council of deans, heads of the departments and wardens of ICT on Monday.
“The minutes of the meeting indicate that it was called only to target the students who, with bona fide intentions, dared to expose the illegalities and wrongdoings within the campus,” the ABVP said in a statement. It added that allegations of defamation were levelled against them without giving them a fair hearing.
While Yadav could not be reached for a comment, ICT Registrar R R Deshmukh said that such a meeting did take place. On the allegations levelled by ABVP, Deshmukh said: “We will be setting up a probe committee. If the committee suggests, we will file a case of defamation against the student.”
“Around 60 per cent of the students have already received the refund of excess fees. The rest will receive the same in a week,” he added.
On DBT, he said: “The DBT issue is faced by many students, not just those belonging to ICT. We have communicated to the state government that only two of our courses are visible on the portal, and have appealed that the rest be also incorporated. In this regard, the state government has convened a meeting on Friday for representatives of all engineering colleges facing difficulty with the portal.”
Commenting on the allegations against Yadav, Deshmukh said, “As per UGC Act, for deemed universities, the seniormost person is required to work as the V-C. Since Professor Yadav was the seniormost person, he started performing his required duties. In many cases, the posts of director and vice-chancellor are considered synonymous. Professor Yadav’s term ends on May 29 and the legal procedure for the appointment of V-C, vide UGC Deemed Universities Act, as per ICT statutes, has been initiated.”
