Hindu College staff body protest intensifies after show-cause notices to 3 professors

The ongoing protest by the Hindu College Staff Association (HCSA) intensified on Friday, a day after the teachers’ body criticised the administration for issuing show-cause notices to three of its members.

The notices come against the backdrop of a controversy over admissions under the extracurricular activities and sports categories. At a meeting in August, the association alleged excess admissions and accused the principal of playing a role in facilitating them.

The association said the on-campus agitation would continue until the alleged privatisation of the public institute is stopped, while academic activities remain unaffected.

“The show-cause notice issued to the three members has only strengthened the protest, with more people joining in solidarity. We will continue to sit outside the principal’s office until our demands are addressed,” Ratan Lal, an associate professor from the History department and president of the HCSA, told HT.

“Despite the protest intensifying in the past few days, we have ensured that academic activities remain uninterrupted. Teachers and students are attending their classes as usual and joining the protest afterwards,” Lal said.

Queries sent by HT to the Hindu College principal did not elicit a response.

The college’s governing body on September 8 issued show-cause notices to three professors—Ratan Lal, Shankar Kumar and P.K. Vijayan—accusing them of gross misconduct, indiscipline and insubordination. The professors were asked to respond to the notices within seven days of their issuance.

“You have continued to act in a manner highly prejudicial for the maintenance of internal discipline and order in the college…the governing body has decided that you be directed to show cause in writing within seven days as to why appropriate disciplinary action will be taken against you,” the show-cause notice issued to Lal and signed by the governing body chairman T C A Rangachari dated September 8 said.

Following the issuance of the show-cause notices, the association on Thursday removed Hindu College principal Anju Srivastava and vice-principal Reena Jain from the HCSA.

The association has been demanding the resignation of the principal and vice-principal over alleged irregularities in admissions against sports and extracurricular seats, as well as the alleged privatisation of the institute.