5 months ago
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These are disconcerting times for higher acquisition successful Tamil Nadu. To statesman with, 12 universities successful the State person nary Vice-Chancellors. Besides the iconic University of Madras, the database of “headless institutions” includes Periyar University, Anna University, Bharathiar University, Madurai Kamaraj University, Bharathidasan University, Tamil Nadu Teachers Education University, Annamalai University, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Tamil University, and Tamil Nadu Physical Education and Sports University.
Several of them person been functioning without a V-C for astatine slightest 2 years, depriving them of not conscionable administrative enactment but besides practice successful the higher echelons of the Education Ministry. Over the past 2 to 3 years, the regular process of the Governor, successful his capableness arsenic the Chancellor, selecting a V-C from among 3 imaginable candidates recommended by a hunt committee has ended successful a deadlock.
Governor R.N. Ravi has insisted that the 2018 regularisation of the University Grants Commission (UGC) beryllium followed successful the assignment of the V-Cs, particularly the clause that 1 subordinate of the hunt committee indispensable beryllium a UGC nominee. However, the State authorities has said that since it has not adopted that peculiar UGC clause, it does not use it. Tamil Nadu would similar the process to beryllium guided by State authorities and not Central rules. The resulting impasse has affected the mean functioning of the 12 institutions.
Decisions pending
At Bharathidasan University, 10 months person passed since the past V-C, M. Selvam, demitted office, and the hold successful appointing a caller V-C has raised interest successful world circles. Mr. Selvam, who was the V-C for 4 years pursuing a one-year extension, near bureau connected February 5. A three-member Vice-Chancellor Convenor Committee was subsequently constituted to execute the duties of the V-C until an assignment was made to the post.
According to assemblage sources, the regular enactment of the assemblage has slowed down owing to the lack of a V-C. Many decisions are kept pending and immoderate issues lone get delayed concurrence due to the fact that the committee members are successful antithetic locations, elder officials said.
The university, which has 38 departments and astir 153 affiliated colleges, has been caught successful a stalemate implicit the renewal of its National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) certificate and its yearly convocation has been delayed. “When a regular V-C is connected the campus, the files and matters of the assemblage volition spell connected without delay, alternatively than being sent to higher officials for sanction. Though video-conference meetings are held, important matters are getting delayed. The carnal beingness of the V-C is indispensable for the betterment of the administration,” said David Livingstone, State president of Tamil Nadu Government Collegiate Teachers’ Association.
Reputation affected
The lack of a V-C astatine Madurai Kamaraj University for implicit a twelvemonth has severely affected the estimation of the decades-old institution, said a elder professor. “Once MKU produced immoderate of the world-class probe papers and studies, but present the mediocre medication and the State’s tug-of-war with the Governor [Chancellor] person pushed each different happening to the backmost seat,” helium said.
At Periyar University successful Salem, the V-C’s post has remained vacant since May. From 2018, the posts of Registrar, Controller of Examination (CoE), and Director of Distance Education stay vacant. In the past 7 years, the assemblage medication invited applications for these posts 4 times.
Filling of the cardinal posts of Registrar and CoE in caller months aft years has been welcomed astatine Bharathiar University successful Coimbatore. Yet, successful the lack of a full-time V-C, important files proceed to beryllium sent to the Secretary of Higher Education, who is the Convenor of the Vice-Chancellor Search Committee, for approval.
“There tin ne'er beryllium immoderate quick-fix solution to issues related to teaching, probe and hold activities astatine Bharathiar University without the assignment of a full-time V-C,” said T. Veeramani, erstwhile Principal of the Government College for Women, Coimbatore, who had earlier served arsenic the State president of Tamil Nadu Government Collegiate Teachers’ Association.
There are reportedly astatine slightest 9,000 vacancies astatine authorities colleges crossed Tamil Nadu. “Around 96 colleges bash not person Principals. Without caller appointments, unit members who person served for 10 to 20 years are incapable to advancement to elder positions. They are not eligible for promotion erstwhile they scope the property of superannuation,” Mr. Livingstone said.
In May, authorities arts and subject colleges were inaugurated successful 15 districts. However, sources said astir of them are functioning without due infrastructure and staff. On October 15, an announcement was made for recruitment of 2,708 adjunct professors done the Teachers Recruitment Board (TRB). However, the online exertion process was mired successful method glitches. The Tamil Nadu All Government College UGC Qualified Guest Lecturers Association precocious said that implicit 400 candidates were incapable to registry for the vacancies, though they had appeared for the TRB examination held successful 2024. The relation besides claimed that colleges wherever they had worked antecedently were compounding the occupation by delaying the issuance of service/experience certificates by 10-20 days, and immoderate were demanding a interest of ₹2,000-₹10,000 from applicants.
Earlier this year, the assemblage appealed to the Department of Higher Education to transportation impermanent lecturers, who person been replaced by imperishable unit members, to capable the vacancies successful different institutions, alternatively of leaving them successful limbo. The affected impermanent lecturers had served betwixt 5 and 8 years and earned a monthly wage of conscionable ₹25,000. A full of 7,360 impermanent lecturers are moving astatine 164 authorities arts and subject colleges crossed Tamil Nadu. In opposition to full-time appointees, impermanent lecturers gain lone 11 months’ salary, without work benefits.
‘Revamp the courses’
Requesting anonymity, a erstwhile V-C said universities that are so abbreviated of manpower person the leverage to workout autonomy and revamp the courses for stepping up enrolment of students by offering interdisciplinary programmes. “It makes nary consciousness for the teachers to proceed with specialised courses successful single-faculty departments and a fistful of students. The perfect attack volition beryllium to nine specified departments and connection interdisciplinary programmes suiting the marketplace needs.”
Be it Bharathiar University oregon the authorities colleges, the dependence connected impermanent module members has been connected the rise. But for a fewer authorities arts and subject colleges of agelong standing, the impermanent lecturers acold outnumber the regular module members. “The government, portion sanctioning caller programmes, ought to simultaneously contented orders for assignment of regular module members. College heads are struggling to optimise the existing manpower for ensuring the stipulated teaching-learning days successful an world year,” a elder module subordinate of a authorities assemblage successful Coimbatore district said.
Teachers of government-aided colleges crossed Tamil Nadu person been demanding the contiguous merchandise of revised salaries nether the Career Advancement Scheme (CAS) that has been pending for years. A Government Order was issued successful 2021 stating that monetary benefits nether the CAS would beryllium paid to the teachers of aided colleges from 2018 onwards, though the revision recommended by the Seventh Pay Commission came into effect successful 2016.
As things stand, wage fixation has been done for hardly 300 teachers successful Thanjavur and a fewer others successful Coimbatore and Tiruchi in March 2024, said J. Gandhiraj, president, Association of University Teachers (AUT). “In the past 4 years, we person approached astatine slightest six Higher Education Secretaries and 2 Ministers. All we ever got were ‘assurances’,” helium maintained. There are astatine slightest 4,000 teachers astatine the 163 government-aided colleges crossed the State who are eligible for the CAS, helium pointed out.
Off the record, authorities officials said the State authorities was weighed down by a immense indebtedness burden, Professor Gandhiraj added. “In the past six months, they person adjacent stopped issuing CAS orders. We are helpless.”
The AUT and Madurai Kamaraj, Manonmaniam Sundaranar, Mother Teresa, and Alagappa Universities Teachers’ Association (MUTA) person staged astatine slightest 40 protests, including a day-long accelerated astatine the Directorate of Collegiate Education.
Ad-hoc unit appointments
For the past 10 years, determination has been nary nonstop recruitment astatine Tamil Nadu’s authorities and aided colleges. “The State is conscionable managing by redeployment and ad-hoc unit appointments. A Ph.D. holder who has cleared each exams and does a regular teaching occupation volition get lone ₹25,000. There is yet different class of teachers that works for ₹10,000 oregon ₹8,000. Bureaucratic arrogance is hampering the vocation of galore teachers,” said P.B. Prince Gajendra Babu, wide secretary, State Platform for Common School System-Tamil Nadu (SPCSS-TN).
Added to this is the administrative bookkeeping generated by the instauration of initiatives specified arsenic Naan Mudalvan, Pudhumai Penn, and Tamil Pudhalvan. “Though these programmes are an fantabulous accidental for young people, particularly agrarian students, the authorities should person besides planned for a abstracted entity to coordinate the information postulation required for these schemes. As of now, whether it is pupil predisposition oregon information postulation for uploading connected the system, it is each being done by teachers. This affects their regular classwork, and galore teachers are doing the enactment of precocious part clerks,” said Mr. Livingstone.
Weakening the strategy
Interestingly, Tamil Nadu topped the 2024 National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) Rankings, with 18 institutions successful the Top 100 Overall Rankings. “The State has a affluent past of acquisition institutions and continues to thrive successful the tract of higher education. With an ever-expanding infrastructure, rigorous world programmes, and a committedness to improving prime standards, Tamil Nadu has established itself arsenic the starring State successful the state for higher learning with an astounding Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER),” according to the Policy Note for 2025-26 issued by the Higher Education Department.
This has created a chasm betwixt the crushed world and idealistic standards promoted by policymakers astatine the State and Central levels. Several educationists besides spot a determination to regenerate the existing strategy with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. “Tamil Nadu is known for societal justice, wherever each sections of nine tin entree higher education. It is bittersweet to spot its acquisition set-up being systematically demolished,” said Mr. Babu. “When the Centre implements the NEP 2020, without the concurrence of States, it wants to guarantee that the contiguous strategy of universities collapses.”
The Higher Education Commission of India Bill, 2025, (Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill, 2025) could summation the relation of the Central authorities successful the sector, consciousness academics. “This is not an mean Bill successful Parliament. It volition sabotage the full strategy and let overseas players successful the field, affecting susceptible sections of students. The main extremity of the NEP 2020 is to beforehand privatisation and commercialisation of education,” said Mr. Babu.
In essence, Tamil Nadu’s acquisition model is being weakened, and this is an contented that volition person a ripple effect connected the coming procreation of students.
(With inputs from Saptarshi Bhattacharya in Chennai, R. Krishnamoorthy in Coimbatore, C. Palanivel Rajan in Madurai, and M. Sabari in Salem)
