IITD-Director Resigned Due to Fear Of Unforseen Cases
January01, 2015 (C) Ravinder Singh ravinderinvent@gmail.com

This is the Worst News on New Year Day.

‘IIT-D Director Resigned Due to Fear Of Unforseen Cases’ points to
External Fears of IIT management from Political Leaders.

At times IITs persists will DULLARDS and Unqualified Faculty and
others don’t let Suitable Directors to work without interference.

Ravinder Singh, Inventor & Consultant, INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES AND PROJECTS
Y-77, Hauz Khas, New Delhi-110016, India. Ph; 091- 9718280435, 9650421857
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'Resigned due to unforseen cases'

Setting at rest all speculations on his sudden resignation, ex-IIT
Delhi director RK Shevgaonkar told the faculty and students that
“towards the end of the year some unforeseen situations developed and
I had to step down from my position”. Making it clear that he has
formally resigned and waiting for relieving orders, Shevgaonkar
dropped hints that all was not well in IIT Delhi.

“There is a need to create a positive image about the internal
functioning of the institute to the outside world.

Disagreement is an essential part of a healthy academic environment.
However, care needs to be taken that internal differences are not
exploited by the outsiders to affect our functioning,” he wrote.

Sources said the government might try to undo the embarrassment from
Shevgaonkar's resignation by not accepting it immediately and keep him
in limbo. “His letter will make students and faculty rally behind
him,” a senior faculty member said.

In his letter, Shevgaonkar did not forget IIT and kept focus on its
growth in the last few years. He said last year the institute for the
first time went through the external review. “The institute's each and
every stake holder extended its full support in the review process.
The external review experts were highly appreciative of the overall
growth and the functioning of the institute. Many new faculty joined
the institute and the new scheme of Post Doctoral Fellows started
functioning,” he said.

Shevgaonkar pointed out that the institute “slipped on the global
ranking by few notches and a quick corrective effort” should be the
focus for the new year. He said IIT Delhi should become a model
institute for transparency, trust, accountability and academic and
research excellence.

IIT D hits back at HRD min, says Mauritius campus legal
Slams Different Govt Takes On UGC Chief, Director

IIT Delhi on Monday shot back at the HRD ministry, denying allegations
that the International Institute of Technology Research Academy,
(IITRA) Mauritius, is its extension campus.

Many faculty members also pointed out that the HRD ministry is being
selective in going on an overdrive to take action against IIT Delhi
director R K Shevgaonkar on the Mauritius issue whereas it has put the
proposed action on UGC chairperson Ved Prakash in cold storage. Even a
ministry insider said, “Shevgaonkar is paying for standing up to the
ministry.”

In a press note, IIT Delhi registrar said IITRA is not “an extension
campus of IIT Delhi”. “It is an independent research academy, “the
note said. Puncturing holes into HRD's claims, it said: “The original
proposal of starting IIT Delhi Research Academy was initiated on the
recommendation of IIT council in its meeting held on January 21, 2011.

Later, on the advice of MHRD, the proposal was amended to IITRA.”

IIT also said: “The final MoU was okayed by HRD and it was signed in
presence of the then human resource development minister and
functionaries from HRD and Indian high commission on November 19, 2012
in Mauritius.” IIT also said as per the MoU: “Senate approval and the
approval of the steering committee of IITRA, IIT Delhi will admit
students for IITRA as per norms of IIT Delhi and award all degrees on
successful completion of academic programmes (research only) by all
students registered at IIT Delhi till 2018.” The IIT also gave
chronological sequence of events that will put the ministry on the
defensive.

As for Ved Prakash, in October, the ministry had prepared a detailed
note on how he went to Mauritius in January this year to sign an
agreement between UGC and Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) without
the ministry's permission. It was also alleged in the note that he
sought then minister MM Pallam Raju's permission in the file after
returning from Mauritius. However, on inquiry in the ministry, it was
found that the inward and outward movement of that file to the
minister's office was not recorded. “This amounts to malfeasance,” a
ministry official said.

The ministry had also found that the UGC chief travelled on an
official passport without political clearance from the foreign
ministry. Even the MoU signed with TEC was not vetted by the MEA or
the HRD ministry. The note also said that Manju Singh, the other
member of the delegation, also did not have any clearance. As for the
UGC-TEC agreement it was found that one of its clauses referred to an
earlier agreement signed between TEC and the Association of Indian
Universities in November 2013. The agreement was signed in the
presence of then HRD minister Raju. Ved Prakash was also part of the
delegation. Earlier, Prakash in a mail to TOI had denied that he had
anything to do with the TEC-AIU pact but could not explain why that
agreement was referred in the UGC-TEC pact. In its note, the HRD
ministry had also alleged that the UGC-TEC pact ultimately helped
private institutions of Indian origin in Mauritius.

A senior ministry official said, “Nature of allegation against UGC
chairperson and Shevgaonkar is different. In the latter case there is
a clear evidence of opening of an illegal offshore campus of IIT
whereas UGC chairperson's actions were procedural lapses.”