The chairman and deputy chairman of the Sangam College of Nursing (SCN) have resigned, sparking urgent governance questions for the TISI Sangam organisation that oversees the institution. TISI Sangam national secretary Gyneshwar Rao confirmed yesterday that he had received letters of resignation from chairman Amraiya Naidu and deputy chairman Dr Neelesh Gounder.
Mr Rao said the resignations will be formally discussed at TISI Sangam’s national executive board and council of management meetings scheduled for this weekend, but stressed that no decisions had been made. “We actually received the letter of resignation from both of them,” he said. “Nothing has been finalised yet. I can’t tell you anything more than that.”
The resignations follow public allegations from former TISI Sangam national president and past chairman of the Sangam Institute of Technology, Sada Siwan Naicker, who told reporters the pair stepped down amid what he described as interference in the college’s operations and academic governance. Mr Naicker also alleged that a substantial sum of money belonging to the college had been removed as an advance to cover headquarters’ expenses, and accused the current TISI Sangam leadership of failing to respond decisively to the situation.
Mr Naicker singled out TISI Sangam president Praveen Bala and the organisation’s management, saying they had not acted to resolve the issues that led to the resignations. Attempts to obtain comment from Mr Bala were unsuccessful yesterday.
The developments mark a significant escalation in what appears to be an internal dispute involving SCN’s leadership and the broader Sangam organisation. Sangam College of Nursing is a key educational arm associated with TISI Sangam, and leadership instability at the top of the college could have implications for its governance, staff and students, particularly if the allegations of interference and financial irregularities are pursued by the national executive.
TISI Sangam’s national executive and council of management will now face immediate pressure to address both the formal acceptance of the resignations and the substance of the complaints made by Mr Naicker. Mr Rao indicated the weekend meetings will be the appropriate forum to consider next steps; until then, the organisation has not indicated interim arrangements for college governance or whether any independent inquiries will be launched.
The resignations and the allegations come at a time when several institutions in Fiji have been under greater scrutiny for governance and financial management. How TISI Sangam responds over the coming days — whether by accepting the resignations, appointing interim leadership or commissioning an independent review — will determine the next phase of this unfolding story.
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