TNAU shifts 2 depts to Trichy, faculty protest

COIMBATORE: More than 20 faculty members on Wednesday protested against the shifting of two departments in TNAU's agricultural engineering college and research institute to the agricultural college in Kumulur, near Trichy. The protest began at 9am and TNAU authorities agreed to meet them in the evening.
TNAU had ordered the shifting of farm machinery and soil and water conservation departments.The order came on Tuesday and 20 faculty members of both departments have been transferred to Kumulur, while scientists and no-teaching staff have been temporarily retained.
"The shifting of a 42-year-old department to a 20-year-old campus does not make sense. If the authorities could not improve the quality of education and research in 20 years, how is shifting departments going to be of any help,' said K Shanmugasundaram, professor of the soil and water conservation department.
Nearly 400 undergraduate students of food process and engineering and energy and environmental engineering department will be affected.
The faculty of the soil and water conservation department and the farm machinery department teach students four subjects in the energy and environmental engineering course and 15 subjects in food process and engineering course. "If we are going to be shifted, who will teach the students here?" said Saravana Kumar M, an assistant professor from farm machinery.
The idea behind shifting the two research departments was to improve the research potential of the Kumulur campus. "There is no proper internet facility. The library is poorly maintained and these are essential requirements for a doctoral student to pursue research," Kumar said. "The total floor area of all the four workshops at the Kumulur campus will be less than the floor area of one department's workshop in the Coimbatore's campus," he added.
"The faculty here don't teach the students of the agricultural engineering colleges alone but also other departments," said K Shanmugasundaram, professor of the soil and water conservation department. "The two departments handle basic and core subjects of agricultural engineering and allied courses," he said.
While TNAU has ordered shifting of the departments, an examination hall is being constructed on the first floor of the soil and water conservation department. "When there will be no department what will the examination hall be used for?" asked Saravana Kumar. "There are so many projects being carried under the scientists and faculty. Research will be stalled as shifting the departments will not happen in a day or two," said Shanmugasundaram.