Govt plays down IIT, NCERT resignations

Smriti Irani

Under fire for the resignation of heads of some key educational bodies since last year, the HRD Ministry said those were “on personal reasons” and dismissed suggestions they quit because of pressure from the ministry. Since “the resignations were on personal reasons, no inquiry was called for,” the ministry said in the Rajya Sabha Monday in response to a question. “Dr Anil Kakodkar (IIT Bombay) requested to be relieved of his responsibilities as chairperson  but agreed to continue till end of his tenure on May 11, 2015. Prof R Shevgaonkar, director IIT Delhi, submitted his resignation due to personal reasons,” the ministry said. The ministry added former NCERT director Parvin Sinclair had sought “premature repatriation” from her post on “personal grounds”.