Tanuvas V-C aspirant challenges transparency in selection

The V-C post is likely to be filled ahead of the April 6 State Assembly election, the incumbent Vice-Chancellor would retire by April 8, Tanuvas sources said. 

Alleging that the members of the Tanuvas V-C search panel were often influenced by politicians and vested interests with money power, Dr G Rajavelu, a retired head of the department at the university who had been a government nominee in the panel, urged in his letter to Raj Bhavan that the Governor should step in to prevent this from happening. 

Though a prestigious institute at one point of time, Tanuvas has slipped in the All India ranking in the recent past, he said, noting how there has been a fall in research activities. The Governor should ensure that only those with good academic and scientific background be posted as the new Vice-Chancellor, Rajavelu said. 

“There is no transparency in the functioning of the search committee, and the list of candidates selected for an interview is not shared and the marks scored by the candidates are not disclosed till now,” said the aspirant who has applied for the post. 

“The service rendered by persons like me is not considered even though I have 35 years of service. Persons with lesser service and fewer scientific publications are called for the interview, but I am yet to get any official interview call,” the retired veterinary professor said. 

It may be noted that the State government had constituted a search committee on January 6 to recommend a panel of three names to the Governor-Chancellor for the appointment as the next Vice-Chancellor. The selected person would hold the office for a period of three years.