KOLKATA: Anju Seth, who broke the glass ceiling to become IIM-Calcutta’s first woman director, resigned from her position late on Sunday after locking horns with the institute’s board of governors over several months.
Matters came to a head towards the end of February, when the board adopted a resolution against her at a special meeting and started an inquiry into her “conduct”.
Seth’s term was to end in February 2022, when she would turn 65. She went on sick leave on Friday, leaving the institute in the hands of Prashant Mishra, the dean of external affairs. Besides sending her resignation letter to the board of governors, Seth mailed a copy to the PMO, sources said. An emergency meeting convened by the board on Monday was rescheduled to Tuesday.
Seth, an alumnus of the institute’s 1978 batch, told TOI, “I’m disappointed as I’m leaving a dream only partially fulfilled; it is not what I had sought. Yet I’m proud that I tried my best and that I’ve disrupted the conventional barriers that were holding back the opportunity for IIM-Calcutta to emerge as a world-class institution. I hope that in the future, the institute will continue to build on a culture of transparency and accountability as core values. I have been privileged to work with many dedicated and talented people and wish them the very best for the future. I continue to be a proud alumna of IIM-Calcutta and shall always be.”
In her resignation letter, Seth referred to the breakdown of confidence between her and the board after the latter chose to level allegations of wrongdoing against her without giving her a chance to defend herself, a source said.
She also alleged lack of transparency and accountability, misuse of funds, instances of abdication of responsibility, weak financial health and governance issues that invited investigation by the Union education ministry and agencies like the Comptroller and Auditor General of India and the Central Vigilance Commission.
Seth, who fell out with board chairperson Srikrishna Kulkarni, had apparently written to the education ministry, complaining of interference in her work. She said this was restricting her from taking the institute forward.
The chairperson took exception to Seth’s letter and called a special meeting in February. The board also advertised for the post of a new director 11 months before Seth’s retirement, as opposed to the institute’s norm of initiating the process nine months before the incumbent’s tenure is to end.