Vice-Chancellors of Tamil Nadu state universities boycott annual conference convened by Governor R N Ravi

Chennai: Vice-chancellors (VCs) of state-funded and Universities in Tamil Nadu on Friday “boycotted” the annual conference convened by Governor R N Ravi, who charged the DMK dispensation of using police to “knock at the doors” on the residences and hotel rooms of the heads of universities to deter them from participating in the meeting.

Of the 56 invitees, only 18, mostly from universities and institutions run by the Union Government, participated in the fourth edition of the VC’s meeting in the picturesque Nilgiris, in what is seen as a major rebuff to the Governor, who has been stripped of the powers to appoint and remove VCs following the Supreme Court’s assent to 10 bills that were withheld by him.

Friday’s boycott of the conference, which was addressed by Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankar, who praised Governor Ravi for “vindicating his oath”, is set to escalate tensions between the Raj Bhavan and Fort St. George, the seat of power of the Tamil Nadu government. The hostility between the two has already affected the functioning of state-run universities, with six of them remaining headless for the past year due to differences between the Governor and the state government on the composition of search panels to appoint VCs.

Ravi alleged that Chief Minister M K Stalin, who met heads of the state universities on April 16, used police to deter the Vice-Chancellors of state universities from participating in the prescheduled conference today.

“(It) is reminiscent of the Emergency days. When telephonic threats from the Minister of Higher Education to the VCs not to participate in the conference did not work, Chief Minister Stalin used the police. Some (VCs) have given me in writing that they have had midnight knocks at their doors, saying they can’t return home. I told them to take care of their families,” Ravi added.

Hitting back, Higher Education Minister Govi Chezhian said the VCs have boycotted the conference due to the recent developments in the Supreme Court that transferred the powers of managing universities from the governor to the government.

“The VCs are aware of the SC verdict and law. Despite knowing everything, the Governor is hell bent on fomenting trouble. Since the VCs felt it would amount to going against the law to participate in an illegal meeting convened by the Governor, they have boycotted. Is it necessary for the VCs also to not respect the law?” Chezhian asked.

The minister also utilised the opportunity to take a dig at the BJP for politicising the Raj Bhavan in Tamil Nadu and cited instances when the Governor refused to administer the oath of office to V K Sasikala as Chief Minister and later uniting warring AIADMK leaders Edappadi K Palaniswami and O Panneerselvam.

In his speech, Ravi alleged that VCs who had reached Ooty had midnight knocks on their hotel rooms by the state police. “Is Chief Minister Stalin afraid of the consequences of the rise in standards of state universities, which largely caters to Dalit and poor students, and any quality improvement will make them aspirational and inspirational, that could be a threat to his political future?" he asked.

Dhankar also pitched for the National Education Policy, 2020 (NEP) to be adopted across the country amid Tamil Nadu’s vociferous opposition to it.

“The most significant aspect of the National Education Policy is that it allows students to learn in their mother tongue. It has got us out of the colonial regime. Even medicine and engineering in local languages, which could not be entertained at one point in time, even in dreams, are getting in shape on the ground,” he added.