Now, BU VC targets syndicate members

BANGALORE: Bangalore University Vice-Chancellor Dr N Prabhu Dev has fired a fresh round of salvo against the Syndicate members. The VC, reacting to the Syndicate members’ demand of an outside observer during the meetings, said, “Media should be allowed to be the observers of the Syndicate meetings.”In yet another press statement on Saturday, he stated, “I wholeheartedly support the idea. I also believe that this will provide the much needed security to woman Syndicate members, statutory officers and to me personally.”Criticising the members, he said, “Throwing water bottles, house arresting the VC and other officers, menacingly sitting on desks, verbal abuses and threats are not democratic.”Expressing anger over a section of the Syndicate members, that called him a non-academician, Prabhu Dev sought to ‘expose’ their academic backgrounds. “Two are lawyers without any proven academic excellence or experience in academic institutions. One was working as an agent of an affiliated college. One senior citizen who got his PhD from BU said that 90 per cent of PhDs are copied. I do not know which category his PhD belongs to. A teacher who says that he allowed his student to copy 100-and- odd pages verbatim, without changing a comma or a fullstop. Another who is a non-academic postgraduate,” said the VC, making obvious references to senior Syndicate member Prof K V Acharya and Registrar (Administration) B C Mylarappa.  The VC expressed regret that he should have rejected the list of government nominations, as ‘none of them are true academicians, which is the minimum requirement to be Syndicate members’. He went on to state that former BU VC Dr M S Thimmappa had rejected the government nominees, ‘and today, he is the icon of higher education’. Commenting on the allegation that the university budget was not utilized correctly, Prabhu Dev said, “After approval, it was placed before the Syndicate on March 21 and 24. Salaries, exam and academic expenditure and others were discussed and deliberated in the budget. Even then, if they do not understand, I am not to be blamed.”