Seven universities in Tamil Nadu have vacant syndicate positions 

Siddharth Prabhakar | TNN | Updated: Jun 20, 2018, 07:38 IST


 

CHENNAI : Seven universities under the state higher education department are yet to fill vacant positions in the syndicate, a review meeting last week noted. Observers say this goes against the spirit of internal democracy and checks in the university system. 

As per minutes of the review meeting at the Tamil Nadu State Council of Higher Education (TANSCHE), Tamil Nadu Open University (TNOU) in Chennai has one of the highest number of vacancies in the syndicate. For more than a year, the university’s faculty has raised the issue of the six vacant slots repeatedly, stating that the nominations from assistant professor and associate professor level aspirants have not been processed by the university.

A syndicate is the highest decision-making body in a varsity, covering everything from finance, syllabus to other administrative matters. TNOU professors say they have been unable to raise academic and other issues such as their salaries with the university as they do not have a voice in the syndicate.

When contacted, TNOU vice-chancellor M Bhaskaran said, “We are looking into the issue. We will nominate people to the syndicate after resolving seniority issues about professors.”

The other vacancies include three in the Teacher Education University, six in Anna University and three in Bharathidasan University. TANSCHE has directed them to fill the vacancies at the earliest.

Former head of defence studies department at University of Madras Gopalji Malviya said the syndicate was a democratic set-up and not filling the vacant slots was a tactic employed by vice-chancellors. “The VCs fear non-cooperation from professors whose dissent will be recorded in official syndicate minutes,” he said.