HRD Ministry Seeks Remedy for “No Principal” in 21 Delhi University Colleges

Urged by President Ramnath Kovind’s request to fill vacant positions across educational institutions, the Ministry of Human Resource Development summoned the Chairpersons of 21 Delhi University Colleges, giving them a deadline of 15th July to appoint regular principals. Earlier, the President of India had expressed concerns about institutions functioning without any one at the helm. The truth and extent of this matter revealed that some of these colleges have not had a principal in almost a decade.

While all those who attended agreed to fulfill the requirements set out with the deadline, some blaming of extraneous forces was also recorded as being a reason for their inability to do so until now. An example of this was blaming of conflict between Delhi University and the ruling Aam Aadmi Party who have delayed the setting up of “governing bodies” that are an integral part of the selection process for new principals. In fact, it is the governing body that will pick a principal, so not having this in place was thought to be the primary reason for the ongoing delay, in some instances. Other allegations of trying to create favourable advantage briefly surfaced during the meeting, but were no more than passing comments as the attending representatives stayed focused on the task at hand.

Education institutions are bodies of activity that need a clear vision and plan of action to carry out their ambitions of teaching the world to create a better place. However, the fact that such ongoing negligence is allowed to transpire brings into question the true accountability of the government, the institutions or the college boards themselves, when it comes to ensuring a high quality of education as a fundamental right.