Chennai: A week after Governor Banwarilal Purohit, the chancellor of state universities, called for transparency in faculty appointments, petitions are now sent to Raj Bhavan by the academicians alleging that there is no transparency by the vice chancellor search panel committee appointed to recruit new VC for the headless Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (Tanuvas).
“Thirty four veterinarians applied for the VC post. Of this seven people have been asked to attend an interview on March 15 at a posh hotel in South Chennai. There are lot a controversies surrounding this interview process and there is no transparency”, rued a professor who also applied for the top post.
The search panel committee maintains stoic silence and academicians with corrupt background have been invited for the interview, said the dejected professor whose application was turned down by the search panel committee.
“I have asked for an appointment with Raj Bhavan and if I am heard, I will raise questions like - Why the names of all applicants were not released by the panel and why the rank list and marks were not released. Further there are more confidential data available with me against those who helped the former vice chancellors to involve in corruption”, said another professor who recently retired from service. “The funny part is that people after making money in foreign countries are now returning to the state as the post of VC is seen as a money minting position. Even candidates with less academic qualifications have applied”, he added.
“I know I am not in race for VC post, but Tanuvas has become notorious in the recent years with both the faculty and state government officials joining hands to make a quick buck for faculty appointments and transfers”, said a former dean who served with Tanuvas. “The governor talks about transparency, but the recently passed ordinance in the state makes no mention about following the UGC regulations, which prescribes minimum qualifications for appointing vice-chancellors. Mandatory clauses are often changed and altered by the state officials to encourage selected candidates.
In my opinion the VC selections in future should be done through open meeting and web casting like a public election, where the public can also watch the process live”, he added. It may be noted that Tanuvas is headless for the past three months without a vice chancellor.
