The Hindu : Tiruvalluvar varsity remains a non-starter

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Dec 16, 2002

Southern States

Southern States - Tamil Nadu

Tiruvalluvar varsity remains a non-starter

By P.V.V. Murthi

VELLORE Dec.15. While it has been nearly two months since the Government issued a notification creating the Tiruvalluvar University, Vellore, a statutory temporary committee meant for running the day-to-day administration is yet to be constituted.

The university — carved out of the Madras University established for conducting courses which would give a thrust to development and welfare of the downtrodden and backward sections — would be of an affiliating type.

Fiftytwo arts and science colleges in Vellore, Tiruvannamalai, Cuddalore and Viluppuram districts including 11 government colleges would be affiliated to the university from the 2003-2004 academic year, according to the Government's order.

While the notification stated that the university would function at the Muthurangam Government Arts College, Vellore, until a new building was constructed, it continues to function from the premises of the erstwhile Madras University Post-Graduate Extension Centre inside the Fort. For, the hostellers of the college oppose the move to locate the university administrative building in the hostel.

At present, 84 students are studying in the PG Extension Centre, which offers M.Sc., M.Phil and Ph.D. in Zoology, M.Phil and Ph.D in Chemistry and M.Phil in Economics.

Forty students are studying in M.Sc. Zoology, 20 each in the first and second years, 15 in Ph.D Zoology, four in Ph.D Chemistry and six each in the M.Phil courses in chemistry and economics.

The education department sent last month a demi-official letter to the university asking it to immediately constitute a temporary committee with the vice-chancellor as chairman, the registrar as member-secretary and three other educationists from the university area as members to run the day-to-day administration until the Syndicate and Academic Council were constituted.

Enquiries reveal that 16 employees of the university are yet to get their salary for November as the university authorities are yet to furnish the Government with the details of the number of employees and the salary drawn by them.

Once these details are furnished, the director of collegiate education would be authorised to draw the salary from the Pay and Accounts Office and send the cheques to the university.

Barring the vice-chancellor and the registrar, the university has seven lecturers and seven non-teaching employees.

The university has not even obtained the contingency fund of Rs. 50 lakhs promised by the Government for creating the basic infrastructure needed for a new university as the authorities are yet to send specific proposals of their needs to the Government.

As for the land for the construction of a new building for the university, 571 acres of land in Kandippedu, Karigiri, Oddanthangal and Serkadu villages, including 244 acres of poromboke land were earmarked for the establishment of the `Vellore University' in 1986.

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