New Delhi :- A social media confrontation broke out between the Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan and the Rajya Sabha member P Chidambaram on the appointment of vice chancellor of Madras University on Sunday.
For five months now, one of the oldest state universities of the country, University of Madras, has been operating without a Vice Chancellor due to disagreements between Tamil Nadu’s governor R N Ravi and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK)-led government.
P Chidambaram on Sunday wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, that the University of Madras is without a VC for the last five months and asked why the Governor of the state is at the “centre of many controversies in the state”.
The Congress leader wrote: “Among the first three Universities of India established in 1857, the University of Madras is without a Vice Chancellor for the last 5 months. The reason given is the Governor-government standoff…Why is the Governor of Tamil Nadu in the centre of many controversies in the State? Some say that the Governor is the cause of many controversies. It is a sad commentary on the state of higher education in the country.”
Responding to the accusation online, Dharmendra Pradhan wrote that the state government of Tamil Nadu and registrar of the university have not sought a nominee of the University Grants Commission (UGC). A search-cum selection committee, headed by a UGC nominee, must be constituted by the Tamil Nadu government university registrar in accordance with national constitutional court rulings.
The education minister said that the Vice Chancellors cannot be appointed in violation of the relevant UGC regulations.
Pradhan wrote: “With regards to delay in appointment of VC in University of Madras, the UGC is yet to receive a request from the competent authority from Tamil Nadu Govt/ Registrar of University seeking [a] nominee of Chairman, UGC.”
Currently, VC appointments are made by the Governor, who also serves as the ex-officio chancellor of public universities. On September 6, the Governor announced the formation of three search and selection committees to appoint Vice Chancellors for the University of Madras, Bharathiar University in Coimbatore, and Tamil Nadu Teachers Education University in Chennai. This is when the current issue started. Additionally, he proposed a fourth member of the committee by appointing a candidate on behalf of the University Grants Commission (UGC) chairman.
“For additional information, a UGC Chairman nominee was sent to Hon’ble TN Governor’s Office for selection & appointment of VC in Bharathidasan University, when the request was made,” Pradhan wrote, adding, that Chidambaram should question Tamil Nadu Government for not sending a request to seek a UGC chairman nominee.
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