Prof. E. Balagurusamy. File
| Photo Credit: R. Ashok
The sexual assault on a hostel student on the Anna University campus in Chennai is a result of “anarchy in the university system,” former Vice Chancellor of the varsity E. Balagurusamy has said.
In a statement on Wednesday (January 1, 2025), the former V-C urged the Governor-Chancellor and Higher Education Minister-cum-Pro Chancellor “to avoid confrontational attitude and work in tandem in the overall interest of higher education in the State.”
Ten days ago, a girl student residing in one of the hostels on the campus was sexually assaulted allegedly by an outsider on the university premises. The issue has since attracted media attention from across the country. Anna University was ranked the best State university by NIRF in 2024.
Prof. Balagurusamy said the Tamil Nadu government and the Governor have been “at loggerheads for a long time over the constitution of search panels” for selecting Vice Chancellors, as a result of which many universities have been headless for more than two years. Also, in the next few months, almost all universities will become headless, he added.
Given that many universities do not have regular registrars, controller of examinations, and finance officers, the functioning of the universities has been severely crippled, “creating chaos in the universities,” he pointed out.
The delay in appointing a V-C further will affect the welfare of and the quality of education and research, impacting students and academicians severely, he said.
Several universities had not held convocations on time and degree certificates were signed by bureaucrats, which degraded the value of the certificates in the job market, he averred.
‘Inconsistent SC judgments’
Prof. Balagurusamy further said the Supreme Court judgments on V-C appointments were inconsistent. “In one case, the SC cancelled the appointment of a vice-chancellor for not following the guidelines of University Grants Commission regulations,” he said.
In the case of Mudurai Kamaraj University, the Madras High Court dismissed the Vice Chancellor 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 university, he pointed out.
“It is high time that the government and the Governor keep their egos aside and find an immediate and amicable solution for this unsavoury stalemate affecting the life of students,” he said.
The former V-C further said search committees were constituted as per the provisions of the Universities Acts. The current Acts of Tamil Nadu state universities do not have any provisions to include UGC nominees in search committees.
While the inclusion of a UGC nominee in search panels is a welcome move to minimise any political influence or bias on the selection of V-Cs, it cannot be done arbitrarily. “Moreover, UGC regulations are not mandatory except in academic matters,” the former University official said.
Until the Acts of all the State universities are suitably amended to include UGC nominees in search panels, the Governor should agree to accept the existing conventions and procedures and expedite the appointment of V-Cs “to mitigate the agony of millions of students in the State,” he added.
Published – January 01, 2025 03:00 pm IST
