Self-financing colleges affiliated to Madurai Kamaraj University have decided to appeal to the university for relaxation of time to ensure that all their faculty members complied with the University Grants Commission’s regulations on minimum qualification.
The university has recently issued a circular to all its affiliated colleges to ensure within three months that their staff members adhered to the UGC regulations. The regulations demanded that the teaching staff must have either completed Ph. D. or cleared National Eligibility Test (NET) or State-level Eligibility Test (SLET).
The circular was issued following a contempt petition being heard in the Madras High Court regarding the non-enforcement of UGC regulations by many universities in Tamil Nadu. MKU had warned of stringent action, including disaffiliation, if the colleges did not comply with the circular.
P. Mahendravel, general secretary, MKU Private Colleges’ Management Association, said that they were not against the UGC regulations but only sought more time. “We are making the request in the interest of faculty members and students,” he said.
Stating that faculty members must be working in the colleges for many years now, he said that replacing them immediately would affect the students. “Moreover, we must also be sympathetic towards these faculty members. They may not hold a Ph. D., but they are good teachers and that is why the colleges have retained them,” he argued.
He said that the colleges would seek at least three years to ensure that UGC regulations were met. “The university cannot go ahead with disaffiliation since it will affect the students. For many new courses we are offering, it is difficult to find eligible faculty members,” he added.
The Principal of an autonomous college, speaking on anonymity, said that even permanent staff members, who were employed in government or aided colleges, lacked the qualification as per UGC regulations. “Unlike those working in self-financing colleges, these are permanent staff drawing salary on UGC scale. How will the university deal with them,” he asked.
MKU Vice-Chancellor M. Krishnan said that relaxing the time to adhere to regulations was not within the powers of the university. “The court has taken a serious view of the matter and wants the regulations to be enforced immediately,” he said.
On the permanent staff working in government or aided colleges, he said that no action had to be taken if they met the UGC regulations that were in force at the time of their appointment.
