Madurai Kamaraj University - MKU VC's post vacant for more than six months

TOI NEWS-

MADURAI: Peeved over the prolonged vacancy in the top post of the varsity, the Madurai Kamaraj University Principals' Association has appealed to the Tamil Nadu governor to fill the post immediately.

MKU

Besides the post of vice-chancellor lying vacant for more than six months, two other key posts - registrar and dean (College Development Council) - are also lying vacant.

"The association, during its recent meeting passed a resolution appealing to the government to fill the key posts as well as vacancies of teaching and non-teaching staff posts in various colleges," said I Ismail, general secretary of the MKU Principals' Association.

R Karpaga Kumaravel served as the vice-chancellor till his tenure ended in April this year. The delay in nominating a vice-chancellor immediately after he demitted office was attributed to the enforcement of model code of conduct in view of the assembly elections. A special officer was entrusted with the job of administration of the varsity, but he too, retired a month ago.

The varsity was caught in a controversy after one of the members of the search panel for vice-chancellor S Navaneethakrishnan, a close associate and personal physician of Union fertiliser minister M K Alagiri, was arrested on land grab charges. Police slapped cases of extortion, land grabbing and usurping a hospital against Navaneethakrishnan, who was arrested on August 22, at a time when the search for the vice-chancellor for the varsity gained steam. He managed to get into the search panel in February during the previous DMK regime. Navaneethakrishnan was in the previous panel constituted in 2008, too.

Subsequent to his arrest, the search panel had to be reconstituted and the university syndicate was asked to nominate someone else to the panel. "Factors like assembly elections, ending of tenure for government, arrest of the search panel member and local body elections were the reason for delay in appointing the VC. Now that the local body elections are over the state government is keen on speeding up the process," said a university official.