With the ending of the tenure of Anna University’s vice chancellor (VC), the total number of education institutes without a VC in Tamil Nadu is five amid the standoff between the governor and Tamil Nadu government, officials familiar with the matter said .
There is a tug of war between the two over including a UGC nominee in the search committees to finalise a vice-chancellor. Besides Anna University, there are no VCs in the University of Madras, Bharathiar University, Madurai Kamaraj University and Tamil Nadu Teacher Education University. Anna University’s VC, R Velraj, completed his tenure on Saturday.
Though the universities are funded by the state government, the governor, as the chancellor, gets to appoint the VCs.
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The issued started last September after governor RN Ravi announced constituting three search-cum-selection committees to appoint vice-chancellors to the three institutions—the University of Madras, Bharathiar University in Coimbatore and the Tamil Nadu Teachers Education University in Chennai. He also introduced a fourth member in the committee by nominating a person on behalf of the chairman of the University Grants Commission (UGC).
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{{/usCountry}}Hitherto the process was that the governor, government and the university would appoint a nominee each to form a three-member search-cum selection committee, Prince Gajendra Babu, general secretary for the state platform for common school system, said. Higher education minister and pro-chancellor of state universities, K Ponmudy disregarded the governor’s action saying that he has no authority to do this unilaterally. Eventually, the governor withdrew his notifications but the status quo remains.
Without a VC in these universities, some of the staff have been waiting for their salaries and students are awaiting their certificates. More than 55,000 students of various arts and science colleges affiliated with the University of Madras who have passed their exams in April 2023 have been waiting for the past 18 months to get their certificates, said a professor of the varsity on condition of anonymity. “Only a VC can convene a convocation ceremony,” the professor said.
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While the governor extended the tenure of VCs this year in Periyar University, and the Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, he cannot extend that of Anna University’s VC, R Velraj due to the university’s amended rules.
Opposition leaders such as PMK’s S Ramadoss and former AIADMK chief minister O Panneerselvam have appealed to chief minister MK Stalin and the Governor to arrive at a consensus to appoint VCs to the five universities so that the issue doesn’t continue to affect students.