Madras University yet to reimburse Rs 50L spent by professors for semester exams

CHENNAI: The cash-starved University of Madras has failed to settle dues amounting to Rs 50 lakh that was spent by professors from their own pockets to conduct semester examinations across eight government colleges.

Last year, the university paid Rs 95 crore in retirement benefits from its corpus fund, a Rs 300-crore fund originally created to generate interest for monthly pension payouts to retired staff. The withdrawal has affected the fund’s ability to support regular expenses, said officials.

The university has 121 affiliated colleges, of which around 100 are non-autonomous institutions. Sources said faculty from eight government arts and science colleges – located in Tiruttani, Perumbakkam, RK Nagar, Tiruvottiyur, Kundrathur, Nemili, Chengalpattu, and Uthiramerur – are affected by this.

Sources said the pending amount for the April 2024 semester examination alone is around Rs 25 lakh for the eight colleges. Additionally, for subsequent semester exams held in November 2024, April 2025, and November 2025, only advance payments have been made by the university, while the remaining Rs 25 lakh is yet to be cleared.

Due to the delay, teachers in these government colleges have borne the examination expenses themselves for the sake of students’ future. Now, the faculty members are urging the university authorities to immediately release the pending amount of Rs 50 lakh and reimburse the expenses incurred by teachers.

These eight colleges collectively remit approximately Rs 2 crore to the university every semester as examination fees collected from students. Despite this, the university has allegedly failed to release adequate funds to conduct exams in these institutions.

When contacted, Madras University Registrar Dr Rita John said, "The university is settling the dues, and the process will be completed soon."

Speaking to DT Next, Professor S Suresh, general secretary of the Tamil Nadu Government Collegiate Teachers’ Association, said, "The university should not have allowed the situation to deteriorate to such an extent." He also blamed the government’s failure to address the university’s financial crisis, which has led to the current predicament.