Tamil Nadu - Madurai   

Women’s varsity seeks intervention of State, Centre to improve facilities

MADURAI: Plagued with various administrative problems and poor infrastructure, the Mother Teresa Women’s University at Kodaikanal has sought the intervention of Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi and United Progressive Alliance Chairperson Sonia Gandhi to “bring the university out of stagnation.”

In a letter to the Chief Minister written four days back, the University requests to relax rules for the women’s university because it is located in a difficult terrain on the hills and is facing problems in getting teaching staff and good infrastructure.

“A university that was started 25 years ago is still crawling due to lack of basic facilities,” Aruna Sivakami, Vice-Chancellor, Mother Teresa Women’s University, said, while speaking to The Hindu here on Friday.

While she wants the help of Mr.Karunanidhi to amend the university statute to go ahead with appointments of teachers and overcome other ‘inordinate delays,’ the Vice-Chancellor requested Ms.Sonia Gandhi to allot forest land near Dum Dum Parai on way to Kodaikanal Hill so that it could relocate some departments from the hill top.

The land sought by the university belongs to the Union Government.

She said that the University’s infrastructure did not match with the 850-odd student strength.

“Over 100 teaching posts are vacant right now and the staffs are not willing to stay in Kodaikanal. There are no laboratories for science departments. Much worse is that there are no proper toilets for girl students,” Ms.Sivakami lamented. The posts of four Deputy Registrars and 17 office assistants are among those lying vacant. “We got a reply from a Union Minister stating that our request to Ms.Sonia Gandhi is under consideration. If that materialises, varsity departments like Tamil, English, Women’s Studies and Sociology will be shifted from Kodaikanal,” she said.

The science departments and offices of Vice-Chancellor/Registrar and administrative complex will continue in the present location at Kodaikanal.

The Vice-Chancellor appealed to the Chief Minister to treat Mother Teresa Women’s University in a different manner because of logistics problems as it could not be in the basket of other varsities which were located on plains.

She also made a representation to the State Government to entrust the university’s construction work to Public Works Department because currently the building construction is looked after by Directorate of Technical Education and there were “inordinate delays.”

“I request the teachers associations like MUTA to understand the difficulties of our university and cooperate in smooth running ,” she said.

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