\nAccording to The Telegraph, Union education minister Arjun Singh has put his seal of approval on the fact-finding committee\u2019s report, top government officials said.
\nThe human resource development ministry now plans to approach President Pratibha Patil, the Visitor to Nagaland University, for disciplinary action against university officials named in the report, possibly as early as next week, an official from the department of higher education said.
\nNagaland University vice-chancellor K. Kannan, registrar T. Vihienuo and controller of examinations Tongpang Ao have been named in the report, he added.
\n\u201cThe central fact-finding committee has largely corroborated charges levelled by the Nagaland University Teacher\u2019s Association earlier this year. We are ready to press ahead with action against the accused,\u201d he added.
\nKannan is the second vice-chancellor at the university to be embroiled in allegations of corruption. His predecessor G.D. Sharma had left amid a battery of such allegations.
\nSpeaking to The Telegraph from Kohima, Kannan called the allegations against him a conspiracy by \u201cthose who want to run a parallel administration.\u201d
\nThe report details how Rs 43 crore from an allocated amount of Rs 45 crore was allegedly spent on building infrastructure on campuses that lack proper approach routes, rendering the construction largely useless. It questions why Kannan, as the vice-chancellor, did not intervene to ensure proper use of the funds.
\nAs Visitor, Patil has the final say on any action to be taken based on the report. Sources said the President is expected to endorse strong punishment against the offenders as the inquiry was set up under her order. The HRD ministry was initially not keen on investigating the allegations.
\nHRD ministry officials said the controversy surrounding Nagaland University was a pointer to an increasingly generic pattern involving universities in the Northeast \u2014 an absence of Delhi\u2019s writ over them.
\nSome officials at Manipur University, for instance, face allegations of funnelling money meant for laboratory equipment to militant outfits in that state, an HRD ministry source said.
\n\u201cThe truth is that managing a central university in the Northeast, especially in states like Nagaland and Manipur, is extremely hard. The Centre started new universities in troubled areas like the Northeast too hurriedly,\u201d an official said, arguing for a \u201cgradual approach\u201d to setting up central institutions in such areas.
\n\u201cSimply, our policy was: start a slew of institutes in the Northeast and then let them handle it. That may need a re-look,\u201d another official said. Unlike other parts of the country, each northeastern state today has a central university.
\nSikkim University was created last year. The Rajiv Gandhi University in Itanagar and Tripura University in Agartala were also converted into central universities last year. The Centre took over Manipur University in 2005, while Mizoram University was set up as a central university in 2000. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has promised Assam a \u201cworld-class university\u201d and IIM Shillong started classes this year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"