Bengaluru: The faculty of Bangalore University have objected to the appointment of syndicate and academic council members as chairpersons and members of the local inspection committee.

The committees are in charge of inspecting affiliated colleges for quality, infrastructure, faculty, and compliance with norms before granting or renewing affiliations. “The local inspection committee is an academic and statutory body, entrusted with responsibilities such as academic scrutiny, evaluation of colleges/departments, assessment of faculty strength, curriculum relevance, laboratory facilities, research environment, and compliance with UGC and regulatory norms. Such responsibilities demand deep academic expertise, subject knowledge, and long teaching and research experience, which are inherently the domain of senior faculty members,” said the Bengaluru University SC/ST Teachers’ Association.

Accusing the university of sidelining the teaching community, the association pointed out that BU is one of the few universities where syndicate members are appointed as local inspection committee chairpersons. “The current practice raises serious and unavoidable questions among the teaching community: Does the university administration lack confidence in its own professors?” it said.

The association said it will not cooperate with the inspections until syndicate members are taken off the committee.

BU vice-chancellor Jayakara Shetty said the issue is pending in the high court. “In the previous years, a syndicate member got a stay order on removing him from the committee. That stay order is still not vacated. Under the circumstances, we do not have a choice but to have them in the local inspection committee,” said the VC.

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