Sunday, September 18 2005 19:27 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Governor T V Rajeswar has dismissed the Vice-Chancellors of four universities of the state for 'gross irregularities'.

The VCs of Veer Bahadur Singh Purvanchal University in Jaunpur, Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Rohilkhand University in Bareilly, Chandra Shekhar Azad University of Agriculture and Technology in Kanpur and Sardar Ballabh Bhai Patel University of Agriculture and Technology in Meerut have been "relieved of their responsibilities with effect from September 17, 2005 for various gross irregularities", a Raj Bhavan communique said here today (Sept 18, 2005).

While the Commissioners of Varanasi and Bareilly have been asked to take charge of Purvanchal and Rohilkhand Universities, the senior most professors would be heading the two agriculture universities during the interim period, the communique of the Governor who is also the Chancellor of the universities said.

There were intermediaries called "facilitators" who arranged the entire transactions and were based in Delhi, Mumbai and Allahabad who coordinated the illegal transactions between the universities and centres, it said.

The fees for the courses ranged between Rs 15,000 and Rs 30,000 per semester and the funds were collected by the collaborators who retained 35 to 50 per cent and the balance was shared by the distribution centres and the universities.

The number of students affected was estimated at several thousands though the "exact figure is not available", it said.

The VCs called this enterprise "distance education, which was a gross misrepresentation as they were not authorised to open centres in states other than the ones in which they were located, it said.

The communique said it was therefore a "clear case of misuse of their position and authority for misleading hundreds of students all over the country with degrees which were not worth the paper they were printed on".

In the agricultural universities, the illegalities were even more serious as they were set up with the specific purpose of educating the rural people, "particularly in agriculture, rural industry, undertaking field and extension programmes".

On being approached by some of the collaborators challenging the order of the Chancellor (Governor) to close down the centres, the Allahabad High Court dismissed their petitions and Rohilkhand University acted in clear defiance of the directions issued by the state government, it added.

The Governor had earlier dismissed the VC of Jhansi University and CCS University in Meerut on charges of various financial and administrative irregularities.