Tamil Nadu varsities in dire financial crisis, autonomy eroded: Governor R N Ravi

Chennai: Many state-run universities in Tamil Nadu are starved of funds and are in a dire financial crisis and unable to pay salaries to teachers, Tamil Nadu Governor R N Ravi said on Saturday.

Their autonomy has been "severely eroded to such an extent that it was not the university syndicates but the state Secretariat that runs the varsities," the Governor alleged.

"Higher Education scenario in Tamil Nadu is no better. About 25 lakh students are enrolled in our 20 state universities. Most of the universities are starved of funds and are in dire financial crisis not even able to pay salaries to teachers," Ravi said in his address on the eve of Republic Day.

The universities, he claimed, have not received their due shares of fund from the state government for the last many years. And as a result, many were functioning with less than 50 per cent of teachers' strength.

"Universities have no money to recruit teachers. In Madras University, which used to be our nation’s pride, 66 per cent of teachers’ posts are vacant. Due to continuous non-receipt of government funds, some universities have begun filing their Income Tax returns declaring themselves non-state Universities," Ravi who is the Chancellor of universities said.

As many as 10 universities were without Registrars and Controllers of Examination for several years and the posts were being run on an ad-hoc basis. "Autonomy of universities have been severely eroded to such an extent that it is not the university syndicates but the state Secretariat runs them," he alleged.

With regard to framing the curriculum and syllabus which were statutorily under the domain of the Academic Council of the University, universities were compelled to follow a common sub-standard syllabus prepared by the state government Council for Higher Education. Upright and honest university officials were framed in false and fabricated cases and subjected to humiliating police harassment, he alleged.

"Absence of Vice-Chancellors practically brings universities under the direct control of the government because the Secretary, Higher Education, acts as the de-facto Vice-Chancellor. Not allowing appointments of Vice-Chancellors on untenable concocted flimsy grounds is a devious way to erode the autonomy of the university through back door," a Raj Bhavan release quoting the Governor said.

The net result was a steep decline in the quality of education. Due to such a decline more and more graduates were jobless as a majority were un-employable. General standards of research was very low. Of the over six thousand PhDs that our universities produce every year not even five per cent could qualify for NET/JRF – minimum eligibility standard for research. "Future of millions of students are in jeopardy," Ravi alleged.

In terms of learning outcome of students, especially in schools, Tamil Nadu was among the bottom few states. Quoting the Annual Status of Education Reports for the last few years he said the status of learning in government schools revealed a 'very disturbing truth.' "About 75 per cent of our high school students in government schools cannot read even second standard textbooks nor can they recognise all the two-digit numbers between 11 and 99," he said.

Since government schools catered largely to the economically poor, steep decline in standards of learning in the state-run schools further jeopardised the future of the poor and accentuated long-term social and economic injustice to them.

He expressed concern over the increasing menace of illicit drugs in and around the campuses, social discrimination, caste crimes, highest suicide rate in the state, and 'several modules and sleeper cells of terrorist networks operating in various parts of our state.' "This (modules and sleeper cells of terrorist networks) is a very serious national security concern. It is vitiating our social harmony and has potential to severely disrupt our economy. I urge the people to remain vigilant and the enforcement agencies to aggressively root them (terror networks) out," Ravi said.

He cautioned the people to be vigilant against anti-national elements and vested interest persons trying to disrupt the peace, divide and fragment the society in the name of race, religion, language, and caste.