NEW DELHI, January 8: Professor D.N. Jha, head of history department, Delhi University walked out of a selection-commitee meeting because he believed the governing body was selecting teachers on the basis of political affiliations. The committee was interviewing teachers for appointment to the history department of the Delhi administration-run Aurobindo college. Prof Jha had been invited to preside as a member on the selection committee.Prof Jha told Express Newsline: ``The governing body members were selecting candidates keeping political considerations in mind. As they did not want to take an expert view in consideration, I felt it was futile to be a part of the interview board. Shouldn't academic opinion prevail over majority decision in this case?'' contests Prof Jha.According to the Delhi university statute, a selection committee set up to appoint teaching staff should comprise the chairperson of the governing body and the principal of the college, head of the department concerned at the university level, teacher-in-charge of the subject at the college and university representative on the governing body of that college. The candidate is selected on the basis of majority votes polled by the members of the committee. There have, however, been several instances where academic experts have complained of undue interference from governing bodies who select teaching staff on the basis of political affiliations. Many principals of Delhi-Government run colleges treat the governing bodies as sacrosanct. Says Maitreyi college principal Dr S. Bhadra: ``The governing bodies of Delhi administration-run colleges are dominated by politicians who are all powerful. They play an important role in finance management and recruitment of teaching staff.''Recently, an appointment at Hindu College had raised eyebrows in the academic community. A teacher who had specialised in modern Indian history had been appointed to teach ancient Indian history at Hindu College. The only explanation that Hindu college Principal Dr Kavita Sharma gives is that the teacher ``was able to answer all the questions posed by the interview board on ancient Indian history.''Dr Sharma is quick to refute any interference on part of the governing body: ``Our governing body has not interfered in recruitment matters during my tenure. It consists of corporate personalities including Dr Bharat Ram, retd major general Virender Singh, Atam Prakash etc. They do not have any debts to settle. It is only the politicians who are in the business of settling debts.''The governing body of Maharaja Agrasen college has also been accused of appointing teaching staff with political affiliations. Reliable sources at DU claim that the former head of the political science department Dr Sushila Kaushik was removed from the post as the governing body wanted to appoint a teacher with the same political affiliation as the governing body. Dr Kaushik was not available for comment. Summing up the issue, the principal of Kalindi College said: ``Though governing bodies do not directly recruit people, we cannot take their recommendations lightly. They have a lot of power and can impose their decisions on anyone''.
