Source :S Balakrishnan, TNN, May 7, 2010, 02.15am IST
MUMBAI: The South Indian Education Society (SIES), the 78-year-old education behemoth with over 15,000 students on its rolls, has been plunged into a deep crisis following a rift between the society's secretary, V Shankar, and the 15-member managing council. Shankar as well as all the members of the council have resigned, and the society is now being run by an interim committee chaired by retired judge B N Srikrishna.
According to sources, the problem began when Shankar, a businessman with a large stake in the IPL team Deccan Chargers, suggested that five of the 15 seats in the council be given permanently to those who could donate Rs 5 crore each to SIES. The suggestion was vehemently resisted by the council which felt that this would result in the induction of moneybags on a permanent basis and the commercialisation of the institution.
"The money with which SIES was launched decades ago was collected from middle-class people who valued education," a committee member told TOI on condition of anonymity.
When contacted, Shankar confirmed that he and the members of the council had put in their papers. "I decided to quit after an association lasting over three decades because of several reasons," he said. "One of them was the council's attitude to my proposal to run the institution on professional lines. I wanted top management experts, not moneybags, to be on the committee, with adequate powers to run the institution which has grown exponentially over the years. But the committee does not share my vision for the organisation. Some of the committee members are old-fashioned and know that professional managers will not like to report to them."
Shankar added that he had several other commitments, which made it difficult for him to devote all his time to the institution which he had "nurtured" over the years. "However, if ever I find that SIES is being mismanaged, I will step in to save it," he said.
Also in dispute is the donation of Rs 7 crore from Deccan Holdings, which owns the Deccan Chargers team, to SIES. Shankar is the link between SIES and Deccan, and this donation has come in for scrutiny by Hyderabad's income-tax authorities probing the multi-crore IPL scam. Some of the committee members expressed surprise over the sudden munificence on the part of Deccan and were not
comfortable about the donation.
Meanwhile, signature campaigns have been launched by rival factions of SIES for and against Shankar. According to Shankar, a new managing committee will be elected at a special meeting of the general body which will be held soon to resolve the crisis.
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