V-C?s ?mobility? plans hit hurdle

HAVING EXPENSIVE and multi-functional mobile handsets may make people work better. At least Devi Ahilya Vishwavidyalaya Vice Chancellor Dr Rajkamal seems to think so. Dr Rajkamal, who is an electronics and computer expert, has always had the dream of promoting paperless work in the university and increasing coordination between its chief officials.

With this in mind, six mobile phones cum multi-use computer sets were purchased at a cost of Rs 33,000 each from Tata Indicom. The amount was taken from the endowments received under the Union Grants Commission (UGC) funds for computerisation and under the budgetary outlay of E-management quota.

The mobile handsets were allotted to the Registrar, Director College Development Committee (DCDC), Dean Students Welfare (DSW), Deputy Registrar (Exams) and secretary to the V-C apart from the V-C himself. Recently this matter was taken up in the State Coordination Committee meeting held at Bhopal, which took serious objection to this expensive arrangement stating that the university can finance a mobile handset for the V-C alone and not his entire subordinate staff.

The Coordination Committee has for the time being applied brakes on the V-C’s plans in making the university hi-tech as an amount of Rs 6,000 was being footed by the University on each phone.

Dr Rajkamal on his part has tried to justify the expenses in the name of modernisation and easy accessibility of staff. He has even written to Chancellor Balram Jakhar seeking his nod. Until he gets the reply, Dr Rajkamal seems to be stranded.

Phantom tales
THE REPORTED sighting of a ‘phantom’ by the inmates of a girls hostel did the rounds in the university and caused quite a stir on the Khandwa Road campus recently. About a week back, a group of girls from the CV Raman Hostel started seeing an apparition walking down the corridors in the early morning and late evening hours. The frightened lot kept the incident to themselves till the sightings remained individual and untold, but when they confirmed amongst each other that it was not mere hallucination nor a figment of their imagination, the girls reported the matter to the warden.

The warden informed her superiors and university administration perceiving it to be a serious matter immediately made a bid to ascertain the veracity of the matter before it became sensitive as it concerned girls. The university also tried to check whether someone was entering the hostel in the night and slipping out at dawn.

However, all efforts to catch the elusive phantom proved futile and left the university perplexed. Later, some girls admitted that they had cooked up the ghost story as a prank on their fellow hostellers. This obviously left the warden visibly embarrassed and the university officials fuming.

Exam fever?
THE UNIVERSITY these days is flooded with medical certificates produced by students as a last ditch effort to save themselves from debarment in the ongoing exams. Vice Chancellor Dr Rajkamal agreed that a spurt in this practice is seen just before exams. The university has adopted a stern attitude and enforced the rule of minimum 80 per cent attendance in all colleges and University Teaching Departments (UTD).

The students have a tendency to bunk classes in favour of leisurely breaks in the canteen or college garden or going on mass leave as a show of camaraderie. Consequently, results suffer. However, most students remain oblivious of how much they are harming themselves by missing classroom teaching. This has made the university go strict on attendance.
Waking up just before exams, the students plead with and cajole teachers instead of going for the arduous task of presenting medical leave papers.
adityasinghparmar@hindustantimes.com