Madras High Court summons officials who inspected college

Chennai: Madras high court has directed the National Council for Teacher Education to give the list of officials who  originally inspected the premises of Achariya College of Education in Puducherry to give approval.

The court also sought the list of officials who had subsequently inspected the premises for continuation of approval along with the details of their present position, failing which the Director of NCTE should appear before the Court on  December 21.

The court pointed out that Achariya College of Education does not have any approved plan but started the teacher training institution. 

Passing interim orders on a petition filed by Achariya College of Education, Justice N. Kirubakaran said that Puducherry University is also directed to give the list of officials who had inspected the premises of the petitioner in 1995 and thereafter for continuation of affiliation, failing which, the vice chancellor should appear before the court on December 21.

The petitioner sought to quash an order of the Puducherry University, rejecting affiliation for the academic year 2017-18.

The petitioner contended that the university rejected the affiliation by a non-speaking order ignoring the 566 page-compliance report. Further the university gave a vague reasoning namely affiliation will be granted only after the college was shifted to a new building. The university did not recommend B.Ed and M.Ed programmes for academic year 2017-18; it also stopped student admission for 2017-18.In its counter affidavit, Puducherry University submitted that the college was shifted to new premises for its own convenience and was hurriedly re-shifted as soon as the University has issued temporary disaffiliation orders. If the petitioner had the intention of developing a composite institution, the same could have been developed in the original premises with proper PPA approval or on the premises of the arts and science college. It said the university has not disaffiliated the college for shifting the premises but for not obtaining prior approval from NCTE and the university for shifting the premises, which was in gross violation of NCTE regulations and university affiliation conditions.