CHENNAI: In yet another infamous incident within the annals of higher education institutions in the state, two professors from the Department of Physics at Periyar University in Salem has reportedly fought with slippers over the differences about their seniority and who should occupy the chair of HoD in their department.
Not just at Periyar University, the discontent is very widespread and deep-rooted in almost all the state universities which have permanent headship system.
The absence of rotation in headships is another major issue besides corruption, according to faculty members and professors in the state universities.
As per UGC regulations, central universities and institutions including IIT Madras have adapted headship rotation in which the tenure of HoD is three years. In addition to that, the two high courts, the Allahabad High Court and Odisha High Court have ordered in favour of headship rotation system.But a majority of state universities including the University of Madras are following the permanent headship system where the appointed person will occupy the post until his retirement.
“The heads of departments in the university are power elites who decide which course the faculty members can offer, the curriculum of the course and students who have to be enrolled for PhD under a particular faculty member or guide. The university teachers have to do two basic duties - research and teaching. But the teachers could not execute these very basic duties without the interruption and their freedom is being curtailed by their heads of the departments,” a faculty member from Madras University said.
“Many youngsters with new ideas and technical skills have come into the university system in recent times. But unfortunately, they are governed by traditional and conservative people who have not updated themselves for years due to busy administrative work. The traditional people still insist on old curriculum with cosmetic changes,” another faculty member pointed out.
Being the head of the department does not provide any additional advantage in terms of salaries.
Over a period of time, through various syndicate and academic council rules, many powers both reasonable and unreasonable have been bestowed upon heads of departments.
They become academic council members and the chairpersons of the board of studies, senate members and they can be part of any committees.
“In most western countries, the seasoned academicians generally avoid such administrative jobs to focus on academic work. However, this trend seems to be reversed in state universities including the University of Madras where most of the academicians demanding headship while underemphasizing academic activities,” he added.
“There is no scope for debate and difference in the academic environment. Even academic differences spill into personal differences and that is unhealthy for students,” an assistant professor from one of the southern universities told this paper.
“Rotation of headship is a healthy trend in a university system. As a rule, all central universities follow the headship rotation once in three years,” said S.P. Thyagarajan, former Vice-Chancellor, University of Madras.
“A real academic who like to contribute to research and other related areas, if they continue as administrators for several years, their touch with hardcore academic work and quality of Ph.D. researchers will get diluted,” he reasoned. He further pointed out the need to create second line leadership in the system. “If a person continues as HoD for decades, then the inexperienced people will become the head of the department.”
“We have to bring in a system for rotation of headship. In the statues and acts of the state universities say the HoDs are the ex-officio members of the academic council and the Senate. By ex-officio position, they can also contest for the syndicate. Though the rotation also provides an opportunity, people will not like to lose the power and position they are already enjoying. So, they resist the rotation,” Professor Thyagarajan added.
Calling for distribution of powers among the faculty members, the UGC former vice-chairman professor H. Devaraj said, “The rotation of headship is a healthy trend.”
“We have to delink financial responsibilities of HoDs which is making the position attractive,” he said adding the departmental committees which include all the faculty members should be given the financial responsibility.
“We have to assess the performance of the head of the departments and hold them accountable,” M. Devaraj said.
However, the professors argued the purpose of rotation of headship is to remove the hierarchy, bring equality and shared responsibility and cooperative culture.
“The issue of professors ‘reporting’ to juniors doesn’t arise. It will not dilute the importance of professors as their quality judged by the academic performance, not administrative caliber, they stressed.
