St Stephens College Increases Church Role In Admissions, Sends Warning Letters After Teachers Protest

The St Stephens college of Delhi University has decided to increase the role of the church in its admission process, Times of India has reported.

From this year onward, the interview panel will comprise of members of the Church of North India and its nominees. In 2015, the college had tried to increase the Church influence in the day to day running of the institution but it was appealed against by the college professors in the Delhi High Court, which led to a stay.

This latest decision to include church representatives on the interview panel was announced by the college principal John Varghese during a staff council meeting on Monday (14 April). The church members of the new board would be Bishop Warris Masih, Alwan Masih, Monodeep Daniel, Sudhir Joseph and Diljeet Titus.

This announcement led to a strong protest by the permanent teachers who assert that “never in the history of the college has a non-academic person from outside the faculty of the college been a member of the admissions process”.

This protest by the teachers has come at a cost as they have been sent warning letters by the college administration.