Madras University convocation put off indefinetly

CHENNAI: The 159th convocation of Madras University, which was scheduled to be held on December 1, has been postponed indefinitely, an official communication on Tuesday evening stated. Administrative issues were cited as the reason.

The decision came even as students were lining up at the university offices to collect their tokens for the convocation. Professors said many students from abroad, who spent thousands of rupees to come to Chennai for collecting their certificates, have been left in the lurch.

The decision to postpone the convocation came after a meeting held by the office of the governor, who is also the chancellor of the university, with the registrar and the controller of examinations (CoE) on Monday evening.

The meeting was called after the university took the controversial decision to affix the signature of higher education secretary A Karthik on the degree and diploma certificates in place of that of the vice-chancellor. Karthik is the chairman of the VC convenor committee that is discharging the duties in the absence of the VC. The university has not had a VC since January when R Thandavan exited the position.

Sources said the governor's office asked the officials for an explanation why due procedures were not followed. A letter from the university was submitted to the governor's office on Tuesday intimating him about the postponement. The Professors Forum of Madras University had submitted a memorandum stating that the legal opinion given by the advocate general to affix the signature of the higher education secretary on the certificates was not ratified by the syndicate before announcing the convocation. The dissent note signed by seven syndicate members opposing this decision too wasn't added to the minutes, the letter said.

Professor SS Sundaram, general secretary of the forum, said this embarrassment for the university could have been avoided if due procedures were followed. "The syndicate meeting should take place every month, which is not happening. This has resulted into a major confusion for thousands of students as the postponement has come just two days before the event," he said.