The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Governor's nominations to Bharathiar University Syndicate create disquiet

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Wednesday, May 25, 2011
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Governor's nominations to Bharathiar University Syndicate create disquiet

Amutha Kannan

COIMBATORE: The nomination of two persons by the Governor of Tamil Nadu to the Syndicate of Bharathiar University has created a sense of disquiet among academics and teachers associations in the State.

There have been reactions from several quarters regarding the nominations that have been made under the ‘Chancellor nominee' category of the Governor-Chancellor under Section 24(b) – Class II – other members (5) of the Bharathiar University Act 1981, terming it ‘hasty', ‘violation of norms', ‘encouraging mediocrity and corruption' and not conforming to ‘propriety.'

D. Padmanaban, Managing Trustee and Correspondent of GRD Institutions, and P. Krishnakumar, Secretary of Nehru Group of Institutions, have been nominated to fill the vacancies created in place of A. Thanikodi, former Director, UGC-Academic Staff College, Bharathiar University, B. Suresh, Vice-Chancellor of JSS University, Mysore, whose term ended on May 23.

Members of teachers' associations say that it is customary for the Vice-Chancellor of a university to send a list of names when the term of Syndicate member comes to an end. But in this case, Vice-Chancellor C. Swaminathan was not asked for a list.

And the Vice-Chancellor's office received the official information of the new nominees on May 20, three days before the incumbents' term came to an end.

Reverse nominations

“We are at a loss to understand the urgency because the nomination of three Syndicate members under the ‘professor nominee' category has been pending with the Chancellor for almost four months. The Acts and Statutes of the Universities should be applied in a democratic manner and the parameters under which these nominations have been made should be made transparent,” C. Pichandy, general secretary of Association of University Teachers (AUT), said.

Echoing the association's opinion, S. Tamil Mani, general secretary of the Tamil Nadu Government College Teachers' Association (TNGCTA), said that though the right of the Chancellor-Governor could not be questioned with regard to nominations, his not asking for choices from the university and the “haste” in signing the nomination order as early as on May 18, was shocking.

Pointing out that only a good Syndicate could ensure the smooth functioning of a university, S. Krishnaswamy, Convenor of Tamil Nadu Federation of Universities' Faculty Associations (TANFUFA), has also opposed the Governor's nomination.

All the associations have appealed to the Governor to reverse the nominations.

They have also asked the Higher Education Minister and Chief Minister to intervene to set things right.

Responding to these reactions, Mr. Swaminathan told The Hindu that he, as Chairperson of the Syndicate, had to abide by the orders of the Chancellor. The new nominees were educationists and hence eligible to be nominated as Syndicate members. However, the procedure in which the nomination was made was “not correct.”

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