The University of Madras has been struggling to pay staff salaries and the superannuation benefits of faculty who retired after 2017.
| Photo Credit: File photo

The assent to the 10 Bills pertaining to the appointment of Vice-Chancellors (V-Cs) to State Universities could lead to the Tamil Nadu government starting the selection process.

Currently, 12 universities are without V-Cs. These include Madurai Kamaraj University (MKU), Anna University, University of Madras, Bharathiar University, Periyar University, Bharathidasan University, Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (the V-C’s term was extended by a year and it ended on Tuesday), Agricultural University, Teacher Education University, Annamalai University, Tamil University in Thanjavur, and Physical Education and Sports University.

Among these, MKU and University of Madras are in serious financial crisis. They are struggling to pay staff salaries and, in the case of the latter, the superannuation benefits of faculty who retired after 2017. Meanwhile, the phrase ‘Government’, which has replaced ‘Chancellor’ (Governor) in the amended Acts that the Supreme Court has given assent to, has raised several questions in academic circles about the method of appointing a V-C.

Some of theses include: Will the Chief Minister appoint the V-Cs or will the Higher Education Secretary or Minister do it? Also, will the respective university statutes be followed in the appointment? Will the government abide by the requirement for a nominee of the Chairman of the University Grants Commission (UGC)?

Former University of Madras V-C P. Duraisamy said: “In Central Universities, the President of India, as the Chancellor, nominates a V-C, who is a great academician, not a politician or a bureaucrat.”

S.P. Thyagarajan, another former V-C of the university, said: “The Chancellor’s role is not only to appoint the V-Cs but also to oversee the growth and development of State Universities, monitoring all quality parameters. One possible benefit of the Chief Minister being the Chancellor is the government’s financial support, which will be assured to all State Universities. The most important issue to be looked into is the quality of the Vice-Chancellors being appointed.”

P. Tirunavukkarasu, president, The Association of University Teachers, said had the Governor not insisted on appointing a nominee of the UGC Chairman and following the university statutes, the problem would not have arisen. “We want that the three-member search panels to do their job and appoint a good, honest academician. It will help the institution. At Bharathiar University in 2018 and 2019, the Convenor Committee saved ₹92 crore for the university. We need honest Syndicate members, and they will ensure that the V-C will abide by the law,” he said.