The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Tamil to become varsity governance language

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Thursday, Oct 15, 2009
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Tamil to become varsity governance language

Special Correspondent

Administration will be made paperless, says new V-C

“Let us start
with putting all signatures in Tamil”

CHENNAI: The language of governance of the University of Madras will gradually be converted to Tamil, according to new Vice-Chancellor G. Thiruvasagam. He also plans to start MA courses in Anna Thought, Periyar Thought and Kalaignar Thought.

These are among the slew of new proposals that the Vice-Chancellor will present at the next University Syndicate meeting on October 19, he told journalists in a discussion on Wednesday.

He wants to make the university administration more transparent and paperless, apart from changing its language. “Let us start with putting all signatures in Tamil. Then we will gradually change everything else,” he said.

In order to improve accessibility and accountability, a virtual and physical ‘Green Box’ would be set up with its own two-man secretariat to address all grievances and suggestions, he said. Anyone could email muvcgreenbox@gmail.com or drop a note in a box outside the Vice-Chancellor’s office, and all action taken would be communicated by email and on public bulletin board. Students could freely meet the Vice-Chancellor on the first Sunday of every month. The website is to be revamped and a facility to check the status of PhD submissions online introduced, he added.

Infrastructure facelift

Dr. Thiruvasagam said his first priority was to give the 150-year old University a facelift. He promised to address pressing issues of sanitation and security. Surveillance cameras will be set up on the campuses, and all students and faculty will be issued smart cards to ensure that unauthorised persons are not allowed to roam on campus. The smart cards will also be used to access amenities such as a canteen, health centre, gym, and photocopy shop which will be set up on campus. Networking facilities would be improved to provide 24-hour access for all students and faculty.

“So many universities don’t have enough funds, but Madras University has enough funds, which are not being used,” he said. While many of the historic buildings of the Chepauk campus cannot be expanded, there is lots of scope to build additional infrastructure for research and amenities on the Taramani campus, he said.

Social justice

Incentives would be given to encourage those wanting to start colleges in rural areas. Dr. Thiruvasagam proposed an extra 10 per cent seat approval for rural colleges, as well as a 50 per cent concession on the course affiliation fee.

“Quality education is one side, but quantity is most important. That will be my priority,” he said, explaining the drive for expansion and inclusion.

He also wishes to introduce the free education scheme that he had started at Bharathiar University. Each college would be asked to give free education to at least 10 poor students, while every PG department would be asked to admit at least one such students.

A centralised interview and admission process would be set up especially for this, he said. A full fee waiver would be given to students with disabilities. The ‘earn while you learn’ scheme would be given Rs. 50 lakh.

Basic science

A new Dr. A.L. Mudaliar Centre for Basic Science Development would be set up with funding of Rs. 10 lakh. It would be headed by a distinguished science professor of the university and led by a team drawn equally from students, university and affiliated college faculty and industry members.

In order to improve the intake in basic science programmes, new courses would be developed by a new Board of Studies for Innovative and Interdisciplinary Courses.

Its members would be drawn largely from the industry, and it would offer recommendations to the regular Boards of Studies.

Research methodology courses would be introduced at the undergraduate level. The Vice-Chancellor feels that all university faculty must have a research scholar working under them, and would take steps to add research fellowships equivalent to the number of faculty currently without any fellows. A corpus fund of Rs. 10 lakh would be set up to support poor research scholars in going for conferences, training or further research abroad.

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