Governor's corruption charge stirs up a hornets’ nest in TN
Tuesday, 09 October 2018 | Kumar Chellappan | CHENNAI
Governor Banwarilal Purohit has stirred a hornets’ nest with his Saturday speech in Chennai when he disclosed that crores of rupees had changed hands in the past in the appointment of Vice-Chancellors in universities in Tamil Nadu.
“I was shocked to hear from people that crores had changed hands in the appointment of Vice-Chancellors. I could not believe that and I decided things have to be changed,” said the Governor, who also recounted how he appointed nine prominent educationists as Vice-Chancellors to various universities in the State.
“Nobody could raise any accusatory finger at any of these appointments,” said the Governor. His disclosures had the desired effect as most of the political leaders who had questioned the appointment of Vice-Chancellors were seen scurrying for cover. They had criticised the Governor for appointing a Karnataka-born Surappa as the Vice-Chancellor of Anna University and a person who did not subscribe to the Dravidian ideology as the Vice-Chancellor of Tamil Nadu Ambedkar Law University.
But what is interesting in the disclosure by the Governor is that these allegations were there in Tamil Nadu since 2006. Prof M Ananadakrishnan, former Vice-Chancellor of Anna University and chairman of the Board of Governors of Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, was the first academic to come out in the open and lambast the political parties for massive corruption in the appointment of Vice-Chancellors.
‘They are auctioning the post of Vice-Chancellors. Only persons willing to pay Rs 7.5 crore or more are appointed as Vice-Chancellors," he had said while addressing a public meeting in 2008. The then DMK Government led by late M Karunanidhi immediately got him removed from the post of chairmanship of the executive committee of the elite Science City.
Both the DMK and the AIADMK have made the appointment of vice-chancellors and academic faculty members an easy way to make money. The DMK which was iun power during 2006 to 2011 divided the Anna University into four so that four vice-chancellors could be appointed by charging money from the aspirants.
The AIAADMK Government which came to power in 2011 cancelled the DMK decision and brought the Anna University back to its original form. But the going rate for a vice-chancellor’s post shot past the roof when reports last came. Sources in the higher education department told The Pioneer that the vice-chancellors’post commanded a premium of anything upto Rs 20 crore depending on the size of the university.
Early this year, the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) had registered cases against M Rajaram, who was the vice-chancellor of Anna University during 2013 to 2016, for violating all norms in the appointment of faculties to various departments in the University during his tenure. The investigating officers found that Rajaram charged Rs 25 lakh to Rs 45 lakh for appointing faculty members who were not qualified for the posts. The team seized documents which prove that the six faculty members were appointed following illegal gratification.
Tamil Nadu Police had also arrested A Ganapathy, vice-chancellor of Bharatiyar University, red-handed while accepting Rs 29 lakh from one of the applicants for the post of assistant professor in the university. Two former vice-chancellors of two universities have managed to get anticipatory bail from courts.
MK Stalin, president of the DMK, told reporters that the Governor, instead of making public speeches should have taken action against the Government . “It is surprising that the Governor chose to speak only about the corruption in vice-chancellor appointments,” Stalin told reporters.
A veteran police officer said the DMK president has been caught in a dilemma as he could not speak more about the Governor’s charge as all major political parties were beneficiaries of appointment in higher education.
Tuesday, 09 October 2018 | Kumar Chellappan | CHENNAI
Tuesday, 09 October 2018 | Kumar Chellappan | CHENNAI
Governor Banwarilal Purohit has stirred a hornets’ nest with his Saturday speech in Chennai when he disclosed that crores of rupees had changed hands in the past in the appointment of Vice-Chancellors in universities in Tamil Nadu.
“I was shocked to hear from people that crores had changed hands in the appointment of Vice-Chancellors. I could not believe that and I decided things have to be changed,” said the Governor, who also recounted how he appointed nine prominent educationists as Vice-Chancellors to various universities in the State.
“Nobody could raise any accusatory finger at any of these appointments,” said the Governor. His disclosures had the desired effect as most of the political leaders who had questioned the appointment of Vice-Chancellors were seen scurrying for cover. They had criticised the Governor for appointing a Karnataka-born Surappa as the Vice-Chancellor of Anna University and a person who did not subscribe to the Dravidian ideology as the Vice-Chancellor of Tamil Nadu Ambedkar Law University.
But what is interesting in the disclosure by the Governor is that these allegations were there in Tamil Nadu since 2006. Prof M Ananadakrishnan, former Vice-Chancellor of Anna University and chairman of the Board of Governors of Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, was the first academic to come out in the open and lambast the political parties for massive corruption in the appointment of Vice-Chancellors.
‘They are auctioning the post of Vice-Chancellors. Only persons willing to pay Rs 7.5 crore or more are appointed as Vice-Chancellors," he had said while addressing a public meeting in 2008. The then DMK Government led by late M Karunanidhi immediately got him removed from the post of chairmanship of the executive committee of the elite Science City.
Both the DMK and the AIADMK have made the appointment of vice-chancellors and academic faculty members an easy way to make money. The DMK which was iun power during 2006 to 2011 divided the Anna University into four so that four vice-chancellors could be appointed by charging money from the aspirants.
The AIAADMK Government which came to power in 2011 cancelled the DMK decision and brought the Anna University back to its original form. But the going rate for a vice-chancellor’s post shot past the roof when reports last came. Sources in the higher education department told The Pioneer that the vice-chancellors’post commanded a premium of anything upto Rs 20 crore depending on the size of the university.
Early this year, the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) had registered cases against M Rajaram, who was the vice-chancellor of Anna University during 2013 to 2016, for violating all norms in the appointment of faculties to various departments in the University during his tenure. The investigating officers found that Rajaram charged Rs 25 lakh to Rs 45 lakh for appointing faculty members who were not qualified for the posts. The team seized documents which prove that the six faculty members were appointed following illegal gratification.
Tamil Nadu Police had also arrested A Ganapathy, vice-chancellor of Bharatiyar University, red-handed while accepting Rs 29 lakh from one of the applicants for the post of assistant professor in the university. Two former vice-chancellors of two universities have managed to get anticipatory bail from courts.
MK Stalin, president of the DMK, told reporters that the Governor, instead of making public speeches should have taken action against the Government . “It is surprising that the Governor chose to speak only about the corruption in vice-chancellor appointments,” Stalin told reporters.
A veteran police officer said the DMK president has been caught in a dilemma as he could not speak more about the Governor’s charge as all major political parties were beneficiaries of appointment in higher education.
No comments:
Post a Comment