Tumkur VC gets more than Prez

The corporate-like salary drawn by Dr S C Sharma is in sharp contrast to the salary drawn by  Vice-Chancellors of four other similar universities- Rs 86,750, according to information secured under the Right to Information Act (RTI).

Sharma’s stupendous salary has been approved by the Governor who is the Chancellor and is in conformity with the Karnataka Universities Act, according to information provided by the Deputy Registrar of the university.

During a recent visit here, the attention of the Governor was drawn to the anomaly of the vast divergence between the salaries of the Vice-Chancellors, H R Bharadwaj had replied that it was the government that determined the salary, and not he as Chancellor.

“This had not been brought to my notice. I will attend to the matter soon,” Bharadwaj had said.

When asked his reaction, Dr Sharma said: “I have no opinion on this. I have no reaction to offer.”

Apparently, the reason for Dr Sharma drawing such a salary is that the salary he drew in his past job as principal of RV College, Bangalore, was protected when he became Vice-Chancellor.

However, the juicy salary continues to intrigue many here, considering that at Rs. 1.5 lakh a month, the President of India gets a salary just over half of the VC’s salary and the Vice-President gets less than half at Rs. 1,25,000 and the Prime Minister just over a third at Rs. 1,00,000.

Interestingly, the Governor, who appointed the Vice-Chancellor gets only Rs. 1.10 lakh a month. Members of Parliament get Rs. 50,000 a month, although their salaries are likely go up soon.