KOTTAYAM: Former vice-chancellor of Mahatma Gandhi University Dr Rajan Gurukkal has asked the university authorities to desist from taking steps that cripple the Institute of Integrated Programs and Research in Basic Sciences (IIRBS) at the university.
“It's a pity that personal ego clashes of members of the Syndicate lacking exposure to nationally important scientific practices gain precedence over genuine academic enterprises," Dr Gurukkal told DC. “Several notable scientists from premier institutions, who know about the success of the institute, are asking me about the unwise decisions of the university that tantamount to its scraping."
It was during the tenure of Dr Gurukkal as the V-C the institute started the first integrated masters programme, first in the state.
He said university authorities forgot that the experiment, successfully carried forward for over the last seven years, has yielded exciting results. When the Syndicate revoked the special privileges of the Institute, it hardly bothered to understand the institutional objectives originally postulated and assess the outcomes,” he said.
