MADURAI: Renowned academician and former Vice-Chancellor of Anna University in Chennai Prof.E.Balagurusamy has appealed to the Tamil Nadu Governor and universities’ Chancellor Mr.R.N.Ravi to agree to accept the existing conventions and procedures for appointment of Vice-Chancellors to State universities in Tamil Nadu.
“The Governor of Tamil Nadu must expedite the VCs appointments in order to mitigate the agony of millions of students in the State. He should accept the existing conventions and procedures because the present Acts of Tamil Nadu State universities do not have any provisions to include UGC nominees in the VC Search Committees. While the inclusion of a UGC nominee in the search committee is a welcome move to minimize any political influence or bias in selections of VCs, it cannot be done arbitrarily right now,” Prof.E.Balagurusamy has said in an important press statement on January 1st 2025.
He also stressed that the Governor Chancellor and the Higher Education Minister should avoid confrontation attitude and work in tandem in the overall interest of higher education in Tamil Nadu and he further said that it is high time that the State government and the Governor keep their egos aside and find an amicable solution for the present unsavoury stalemate affecting the universities and the life of students.
“It is really unfortunate that the State government and the Governor are at loggerheads for a long time over the constitution of Search Committees for selection of Vice-Chancellors on the issue of UGC Nominee in the search panels. Many universities in Tamil Nadu will be headless soon and many universities do not have regular full-time Registrars, Controller of Examinations etc.The incident that happened in Anna University in Chennai recently is mainly due to the anarchy in university system. In many universities, convocations are not held in time and degree certificates are signed by bureaucrats. In the case of VCs appointment, the judgments of Supreme Court are not consistent. Sometime back, the Madras High Court dismissed the VC for not satisfying the UGC regulations but the Supreme Court ruled against the HC order and reinstated the same person saying that the appointment was made as per the Act of the Madurai Kamaraj University. But in case, the Supreme Court has cancelled the appointment of a Vice-Chancellor for not following UGC regulations. UGC regulations are not mandatory except in academic matters. The way out is to amend the Acts of all the State universities suitably to include UGC Nominees in the VC Search Panels,” Prof.E.Balagurusamy has said in his very important press statement on January 1st 2025.
