Kolkata: The South Point Education Society has restructured its trustee board and the governing council by removing Krishna Damani — who was arrested on charges of misappropriation of funds — prompting South Point High School and its junior section to issue a statement questioning the move.
Three new members have been inducted into the trust — physicist and author Partha Ghose, former bureaucrat and former Coal India chairman Sutirtha Bhattacharya and Pradip Tondon, one of the seniormost executives of the MP Birla Group.
After this announcement, a statement was issued on behalf of the principals of South Point junior and senior schools, saying the institution has been running smoothly ever since the arrest of ‘one of its trustees under alleged charges’.
A senior teacher said: “The schools should have been spared and not made pawns in any manner to defame an individual or a group to gain brownie points.”
South Point High School principal Rupa Sanyal Bhattacharya said unnecessary pressures were hampering daily work. “This is a crucial period not only because of the examinations. It is also the time when we plan the entire academic year,” she said. Junior school principal Dalbir Kaur Chadda added: “It is an important year when we are waiting for the implementation of NEP.”
Responding to the statements of the principals, Debanjan Mandal of Fox & Mandal said they were ‘misadvised’. “If those in positions of authority have nothing to hide, any changes should be welcome in the interest of transparency and smooth running of the institutions. Instead of obstructing, there should be full cooperation from all those who are in a position to share information of the corrupt activities that are being unearthed by the investigating agencies.”
Mandal added that through this move, MP Birla Group reiterates its commitment to ensure the functioning of the schools will be carried out smoothly. “The trust has been reconstituted with minimum changes to expand the leadership bandwidth of the schools and the Society and to prevent further wrongdoings.”
A member of the legal fraternity of Krishna Damani pointed out that the root of the conflict was a 2004 case and some were trying to use the name of South Point to serve their purposes.