News from St. Stephen's College

St. Stephen's College is once again in the news for the wrong reasons. If we thought this year would be peaceful after the dust of the previous years settled, we all were mistaken. The issue was the admission of the son of the Bishop of Delhi, who is also the chairperson of the College Governing Body and the Supreme Council. His son had marks lesser than the normal cut off due to which he was not liable for an interview call even through the Christian quota. But, he was finally called for interview and even granted admission through the 'supernumerary' category.
As a principle, there is no reason to write anything against the admission of the Bishop's son to College despite the dismal marks he has scored. The Bishop of Delhi heads the St. Stephens's College Governing Body and the Supreme Council and therefore is the head of the family. If the College can grant admission to other staff children with lower marks then there is nothing wrong in granting admission to this particular child. Also, the cut off for Christian candidates has been lower in the past. In 2008, the admission policy of Dr. Frank made a blanket 60% Christian cut off score which is much lower than what the candidate in question got.
But, the problem comes when other members of the Governing Body feel it is their right to get their children educated in College despite their horrible marks. Such use of clout goes against the religious foundation of honesty the same people preach. A substitute to the same is to tutor your child to work harder and get marks, which are anyways very low for Christian applicants.
It also brings the issue of minority education again to the forefront. The 'minority status' of St. Stephen's College has been a tool used by all those in power to enhance personal gains at the cost of the religious foundation of the College. The College has got freedom under Articles 29 and 30 not to allow Governing Body members to get away with admitting their sons and daughters with poor scores but to remind us the of the great work done by missionaries and the Cambridge brotherhood in the past. It is this abuse of privilege and power that shall eventually ring the death knell of a glorious institution.