Vice Chancellor’s absence takes toll on Madras University routine work

The political instability existing in the State has been cited as one of the reasons for the delay and now many fear that the decision for a new VC would be politically motivated. 

On 6 March, the Registrar of the university David Jawahar will be completing his three-year tenure and will be relieved off his post which has made the appointment of a new VC even more necessary, according to university officials. 

A senior professor and Head of a department at the varsity, on requesting anonymity said, “There is virtually no administration. Many people who were engaged with the former vice chancellor are running the administration. They are taking a certain percentage or brokerage from printing papers and exam sheets. The academic structure has eroded and gone from bad to worse over a span of 15 months. They are not allowing the Registrar to do his work. For professors, making a foreign trip for conference and sanctioning a project has been affected as all this can be done only with the consent of the Vice Chancellor”. 

It is also alleged one of the reason for this condition is that the former VC wants his name to be proposed again. 

A research scholar said, “Hundreds of files have been pending before the three-member committee as the Higher Education Secretary Karthik is on leave. Examinations, routine work are being affected with the Ph.D candidates. There is a protocol that the team to evaluate a Ph.D scholar’s thesis is decided by the Vice Chancellor”. 

David Jawahar said, “awarding of degrees, Ph.D guide ship has been affected. A convocation has not been conducted in the past 14 months. The value of a provisional certificate is for 12 months, but now those who have already got it, will have obsolete ones. A committee will not have an understanding, mandate or vision a Vice Chancellor has. The search panel had met twice in the first week of February but by the political turmoil began”.