BANGALORE: As optimistic as a sea-dwelling sponge gets, Bangalore University Vice-Chancellor Dr N Prabhu Dev has had a rocky 2011, quite literally. “The last one year of my tenure, I am reminded of Charles Dickens’s famous utterance — It was the best of times; it was the worst of times,” he says. While it may be safe to say that he is the most talked about academic personality of late, Dr Prabhu Dev takes City Express behind the scenes of his Vice-Chancellorship.Over the past year, Bangalore University has been the dartboard for many. Braving the darts thrown at him, Dr Prabhu Dev says, “I have received a lot of flak for no fault of mine. I am not denying the problems that exist in BU. There certainly are problems.” In poetic fashion, he continues: “I harbour no illusions that the task ahead of me will be an easy one. But neither do I harbour fears that they are insurmountable.” Exam ReformsSince taking over as VC in 2009, his first success was the large-scale exam reforms introduced throughout BU. “Almost 2,50,000 students take the examinations every six months. 20 lakh scripts go for evaluation. Results are announced in 22 days,” he states. The word ‘Failure’ was erased from the marks cards of the University and was replaced with ‘To Repeat’. “Two per cent of the suicides are said to be related to failure in the examinations. ‘To Repeat’ is less malignant on student psyche than the word ‘Fail’. And people ask me why I focused on these reforms” Dr Prabhu Dev questions his detractors.“This achievement, in these two years of my stewardship, of offering thousands of students their results on time to pursue post graduate studies or professional careers is a truly life-changing experience that cannot adequately be put into words,” he claims. This statement comes in the wake of recent protests by students demanding marks cards on time. The protests even saw the VC escaping a close-shave with injury.Controversies and RegretsThe notion that the VC does not visit Jnana Bharathi campus is the talk of the town. However, Dr Prabhu Dev does not hesitate to justify his absence. “I don’t think there is a prescribed office for my functioning. And it is not like I do not visit Jnana Bharathi. I start my day from there,” he says.About the slew of protests that are targeted against him, he calmly responds: “Students airing their opinions are common and routine in nature. I know there are vested interests working within the University.”He is also held responsible by a few Syndicate members for the delay in the completion of the Kolar PG Centre. He calls it is one of his regrets. “I have not been able to get the Kolar PG Centre shifted to the new premises in spite of several Syndicate decisions. It is one of my regrets this year,” he says.Despite the exam reforms he introduced, the problem of malpractice still exists. “I have not been to able to stop the menace of copying in study centres of distance education and to give standard study material,”he confesses. “I have not yet been able to put University Visvesvaraya College of Engineering (UVCE) on development mode and make it an institute of excellence. The woes of students in the BU PG hostels remain to be sorted out. I have not been able to get the BU roads repaired,” he said. Lastly, when asked to reveal his plans for 2012, he curtly says: “I don’t believe in resolutions. Why make them when you may not be able to keep them? I believe in facing things as they come,” says Dr Prabhu Dev.
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