Entrust senior-most prof with varsity affairs: MKU members

Madurai: As Madurai Kamaraj University (MKU) does not have a vice-chancellor, the senior-most professor at the university should be entrusted with the task of looking after the activities of that person, members stressed at the academic council meeting.
They expressed concern over the functioning of the university and urged the members of the syndicate and senate to speak up for the university and its stakeholders.
The members questioned the absence of the state's higher education secretary, who is the convener of the syndicate committee that looks after the business of the VC for one year now, and the cancellation of the online examination pattern.
V Chinniah said, "Due to the absence of a VC many issues are not yet resolved. In the central universities, when the post of vice-chancellor is vacant, the senior-most professor is engaged to look after the VC's work. The MKU will follow it."
Another member S Nehru said, "Absence of a VC has put the university's administration in a stage of coma. The issue of Ph.D guideship is pending for months. Where has it been stated in the MKU Act that the higher education secretary is to be appointed as convener of the syndicate committee? Since she is the education secretary it is not possible for her to attend daily meetings and monitor the university."
Replying to the members, V Venkatraman who chaired the meeting said that that due to the model code of conduct, the secretary was unable to attend the meeting.
To the question, why the online examination is going to be cancelled, Venkatraman said there was sudden fall in the students' admission in distance education.
Citing the decision to cancel the online examination pattern, Prof. G Arumugam said, "If healthy discussion had taken place at the time of introduction of online system, the necessity to cancel the system would not have come now. Many of the syndicate members did not raise their voices then. "
The online examination pattern was introduced by the MKU' former vice chancellor (VC) Kalyani Mathivanan, despite objections from majority of members of the Board of Studies that looks after the academic matters and a section of members of the syndicate of the MKU. Under the online examination pattern, thousands of students appeared in January 2015 examination and the succeeding examination.