Fill VC posts in state universities after consulting Guv: OPS to TN govt

Expelled AIADMK leader and former Chief Minister, O. Panneerselvam (OPS), called upon the Tamil Nadu government to “consult with the Governor” and fill the posts of Vice-Chancellors (V-Cs) in state-run universities, in the interest of students.

The posts of V-Cs of four state-run universities -- University of Madras, Bharathiar University, Madurai Kamaraj University and Tamil Nadu Teachers Education University -- remained vacant for several months now while the Vice Chancellor of Anna University, R. Velraj, completed his tenure on Saturday.

In a statement on Sunday, Panneerselvam referred to a case pending before the Supreme Court of India over the inclusion of a representative of the University Grants Commission (UGC) in the Search Committee to pick V-Cs and urged the government for speedy completion of the court proceedings.

He charged that ever since the DMK government assumed office in Tamil Nadu in May 2021, the state-run universities faced a severe financial crunch and could not appoint teachers or pay them salaries and could not conduct examinations on time.

Panneerselvam pointed out that as there was an issue over including a representative of the University Grants Commission in the Search Committee, a panel headed by the Secretary of the Higher Education Department was heading the administration of these universities without V-Cs.

The former Chief Minister said that if this situation continues, a scenario would arise when there would be no V-Cs for many of the universities.

He called upon the state government to understand the significance and importance of a Vice Chancellor for a University and stated that the Tamil Nadu government had the responsibility and duty to appoint V-Cs for these institutions.