A report by a two-member committee, which probed the complaints by students and staff of the KR Narayanan National Institute of Visual Science and Arts (KRNNIVSA), which witnessed an agitation for more than 50 days, has said that Shankar Mohan, as the director of the institute failed in gaining the cooperation and trust of students and a section of staff.
“He also could not address complaints on time…He could not avoid the circumstances that led to allegations of caste discrimination. The government should take steps to appoint a new director for the institute without delay,” the committee report, first published by True Copy Think, said. The students who went on a strike seeking resignation of Shankar Mohan on December 5, 2022, had put forward several demands, some of which were accepted by the government on January 23, following which the strike was withdrawn. Shankar Mohan had resigned two days prior to that.
The two-member committee was appointed on December 23, 2022 and was asked to submit a report within two weeks. On January 3, 2023, the committee heard all the parties at Kottayam Collectorate. The committee met Shankar Mohan on January 7, 2023. He alleged that a dismissed security guard and some troublesome staff were responsible for all the issues in the institute.
With regard to allegations by students that the reservation norms were not being followed, the committee noted that reserved seats are still lying vacant after recent admissions and the issue cannot be ignored. "The approach of denying the claimed reservation on the basis of not getting the cut-off marks in the interview is not in accordance with the rules. The practice of collecting fee at the time of admission from students who are eligible for fee waiver is also not fair," the committee report said, adding that this mistake in student admission cannot be considered as a failure of LBS institute, which managed the admissions.
"The institute should check whether this deficiency can be overcome this year itself and take steps to admit eligible SC candidates. In order not to repeat this lapse, clear criteria should be adopted and clarified in the prospectus etc. and more transparency should be ensured in the admission process," the report said.
With regard to allegations of discrimination against sanitation employees on the basis of caste, and of forcing them to clean toilets with their hands, the report said it was unfortunate that the situation was ripe for such allegations. What the employees said cannot be completely ignored, though the director denied them, the report said. Though domestic chores at the director's residence was part of work assigned to cleaning staff it would have been preferable to employ someone else to do the work at own expense, the committee noted.
The Committee also opined that if there was student representation in the main governing bodies, it would have done a lot to avoid the current widespread differences of opinion and misunderstandings. The rules should be amended to restore the student representation, the committee recommended adding that this step will also help in smooth administration in future.