SUBHASH MISHRA
Dhanbad, Oct 18: Vidya Bharti Prantiya Samiti Ranchi has been in the dock for abruptly changing the secretary and other office bearers of the Saraswati Vidya Mandir Bhuli Prabhandh Samiti before their tenure ended without obtaining the consent of the main donor Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL) and other stakeholders.
In 2021 a managing committee of Saraswati Vidya Mandir Bhuli was formed for three years under the chairmanship of general manager of administration Surendra Bhushan of BCCL. Former dean of Binod Bihari Mahto Koylanchal University (BBMKU) Dhanbad Dr SKL Das was made honorary secretary to run the school.
But all of a sudden Vidya Bharti Prantiya Samiti Ranchi on October 2 held a meeting of Saraswati Vidya Mandir Bhuli Prabhandh Samiti and changed the secretary and other office bearers without informing the president (GM of administration of BCCL) and secretary Dr SKL Das. The reason for reconstituting the managing committee was also not given.
The sources said that rattled by the arbitrary action of the Vidya Bhartiya Prantiya Samiti Ranchi, the president (GM of administration of BCCL) has refused to sign on papers of the school and release the grant further.
When contacted Dr SKL Das said that officially he has no information about it. He got this report from the media and made the president aware of the development.
“I was not interested to join in any committee after retirement from the university but on request of some senior officials of Vidya Bhartiya Prantiya Samiti I accepted the post of secretary”, said Dr Das.
Sources said Dr Das and other office bearers of the committee were removed as they opposed the swindling of money allegedly by Prantiya Samiti. Rather than giving donations to the school, the Prantiya Samiti realizes around Rs 10 lakh to Rs 15 lakh from the institution per year.
In 2021 when the managing committee was formed, the school was in financially dire straits due to Covid pandemic. The number of students had come down sharply and teachers were given half salary.
However, the managing committee restored financial discipline and brought the school on track. But the situation began deteriorating with the changing of Jharkhand Pramukh Amarkant Jha and school principal Sunil Kumar Singh.
An ex-member of the committee said that Prantiya Samiti had taken a loan of Rs 10 lakh from Saraswati Vidya Mandir Bhuli a few years ago but has not returned it so far. Dr Das and other members of the committee had mounted pressure to return so Prantiya Samiti removed them.
Despite repeated attempts, the present school principal Shiv Balak Prasad and Prantiya Samiti secretary Ajay Kumar Tiwari did not receive the calls to comment.
