George Yeo Resigns as Nalanda University Chancellor, Citing Government Interventions

George Yeo Resigns as Nalanda University Chancellor, Citing Government Interventions, George Yeo, chancellor of Nalanda University, has submitted his letter of resignation to President Pranab Mukherjee, visitor at the university. Yeo’s strongly-worded letter was sent to the authorities at 5:30 am on Friday, November 25, the university’s Foundation Day, The Hindu reported. Yeo was formerly the foreign

minister of Singapore.

In a statement, Yeo said his decision was instigated by the visitor’s order on November 21, which dissolved the governing board of the university. The governing board included Amartya Sen, Sugata Bose and Megnad Desai. Sen was the chancellor of the university before Yeo and decided not to seek a second term because of alleged government interventions in the running of the university. Yeo says in his resignation letter that he was “neither involved in the preparation nor consulted beforehand” on the decision to dissolve the governing board, though he had been repeatedly assured while taking charge last year that the university would have autonomy. “This appears not to be the case now. With deep sadness, I have submitted my letter of resignation to the Visitor,” he wrote.

His statement goes on to say:

“When I was appointed Chancellor in July 2015, I was told that a new Governing Board would be formed under an amended Act, core aspects of which the Ministry of External Affairs sought my views on. The amended Act would have removed a major flaw in the current Act which in essence offers Governing Board seats to East Asian Summit countries making the highest financial contributions in the last three years. … For reasons not entirely clear to me, the Government of India has decided to form the new Governing Board with immediate effect before the Act is amended. This is of course entirely the prerogative of the Government of India.

Pending the appointment of a new Vice-Chancellor, the incumbent Vice-Chancellor, Dr Gopa Sabharwal, whose extended term ended on 24 November, was to stay on as interim Vice-Chancellor until the new Vice-Chancellor is in place, to ensure that there is no hiatus in the leadership of the University. This is provided for in the University Statutes and fully supported by the old Governing Board. However, on 22 November, the Visitor overruled the Governing Board and directed that the senior-most Dean be appointed instead.

The circumstances under which the leadership change in Nalanda University has been suddenly and summarily effected is disturbing and possibly harmful to the University’s development. It is puzzling why I, as Chancellor, was not even given notice of it.

…It has been an honour and a privilege for me to be associated with the revival of Nalanda over the last decade, to serve as a member of the Nalanda Mentors Group and the Governing Board under the leadership of Amartya Sen, and to be appointed its second Chancellor. Despite difficult circumstances, the University has made remarkable progress through the tireless effort of Dr Gopa Sabharwal and her colleagues.”