Stephen's passes constitution amendment despite truncated GB

In a move that may snap away its affiliation from Delhi University, St Stephen's college has approved the amendments to the institution's 102-year-old constitution despite a truncated Governing Body (GB) meeting with only ten out of eighteen members present.
The draft proposing the amendments was placed before the GB yesterday which deliberated on it during an eight-hour long meeting which was boycotted by four teacher representatives, two DU representatives, Principal's nominee Justice Manmohan Sarin and the GB's Recording Secretary Sanjeev Garewal who resigned from the post in protest against the amendment move.
According to constitution, no amendment can be passed without at least two-thirds of the members being present, and a two-thirds majority being obtained. The meeting still proceeded despite being short of "quorum".

While the college principal Valson Thampu and the present GB members yesterday remained tight-lipped about what transpired in the meeting, Thampu today issued a "Facebook press statement" today announcing that the amendment has been approved and a press conference called in this regard stands cancelled.
He also termed the abstention of teachers and DU representatives from the meeting as "a spirit of intolerance" and further called a couple of teachers as "pseudo-activists".
However, it was not clear whether the amendment draft was passed as the proposed one or with certain changes. Calls and text messages to Thampu seeking clarification on the same went unanswered.

The passed draft will be taken up in another GB meeting scheduled three months later before being notified as the amended constitution.

"The marathon exercise involved the exhilarating task of harmonizing a variety of regulatory and empowering provisions and frameworks. The issues raised through a representation by faculty members were given due and careful consideration. The GB found several of their observations valuable and the final outcome is richer on that count," the statement said.
"Regrettably, though the teacher representatives and the
two newly-appointed University representatives chose to absent themselves. It might well be the case that they mistook 'proposals' for amendments as 'amendments'. In a democratic culture, you don't boycott 'proposals,' except in a spirit of intolerance which is being decried now nationally," Thampu added.

Thampu, who is retiring in February next year, had come up with a draft amendment in which he had proposed that the principal be empowered to take disciplinary action against students or staff irrespective of the GB's opinion.
He has also called for giving a major say to the Church of North India (CNI) in the functioning of the college, handing over the powers to appoint faculty and admissions to its Supreme Council (SC) and recasting the composition of the Governing Body (GB).
The amendment also proposes to replace St Stephen's College Trust, which currently runs the college, with a St Stephen's Educational Society that will have the power to establish Stephen's-like private institutions across the country.

While St Stephen's faculty as well as the staff association have outrightly rejected the proposed amendments and urged the GB to delay the process if any, till the time Thampu retires, the members of CNI have come out in support saying the amendment will be in benefit of the students and the institution.
The faculty members have also raised concerns that St Stephen's has not held any consultations with Delhi University and the University Grants Commission (UGC).
According to DU statutes, any such move without consultation with the varsity's Executive Council (EC) is in violation of the rules and might result in derecognition of the college.

Further, it may also result in the prestigious college losing funds from the UGC, which currently provides 95 per cent funding to the institution, with the remaining coming from the CNI-controlled St Stephen's Trust.