Saturday, 13 March, 2010
VCs Of Two Institutions Resign

Chennai: Even as the report of the Union human resource development (HRD) ministry’s review committee — now in public domain — has left many deemed universities redfaced, some institutions have embarked on course correction.

With the expert committee deploring “family governance” structures, institutions are infusing fresh blood in administration. SRM University is in the process of replacing vice-chancellor P Sathyanarayanan, the son of its founder-chancellor T R Pachamuthu. “We have written to the HRD ministry and the UGC to send their nominees for the VC search committee. My son has resigned but I have asked him to officiate,” Pachamuthu said.

At the Vel Tech Dr RR and Dr SR University, Mahalakshmi, daughter of founder Rangarajan, has stepped down as vice-chancellor and taken over as chairperson. Registrar M Koteeswaran has succeeded her. Likewise, Vels University in Pallavaram, Chennai, appointed six months ago University of Madras former vicechancellor S Ramachandran in a similar capacity, even before the review report was finalised after sensing the mood during the interaction with committee members in New Delhi.

The HRD committee report had mentioned that it was “appalled to observe that in some cases, the chancellor has appointed his close family as vice-chancellor in violation of all ethical norms and propriety of university governance.”

Vel Tech and Vels have questioned the application of certain parameters for evaluating and classifying them as institutions unworthy of being deemed universities.

“Our university was less than six months old when the committee reviewed us in August last. In our previous status as an affiliated college of the Anna University we could not launch innovative courses as norms did not permit. Now we have 22 joint ME degree programmes, including with government agencies. But we were given zero on this front,” said a Vel Tech spokesperson.

Vels university chancellor Ishari K Ganesh argued, “the panel has awarded 3 marks for admission and degrees, whereas we are yet to award a degree since we are less than two years old. Either this parameter should have been eliminated or we should have got full 5 marks in this category.”

R Sethuraman, vice-chancellor, SASTRA University which is credited with good research facilities, has written to HRD minister Kapil Sibal questioning the ‘zero’ mark awarded in the category dealing with innovative academic programmes.

Pointing out that the university had internship with MIT-Harvard and semester programmes with leading foreign universities, he said, “this enhances the student’s global mobility and makes Indian engineering education transcend national boundaries.”

Seeking a review of the “aberrations” of the review committee, he urged the minister to order for proper evaluation and grading and “set right the distortions.”