MADURAI
Yadava College has been shut for a week with no sign of reopening in the near future, according to officials from the college.
Senior professors from the college say that this shutdown since July 1 has been caused because the college is yet to appoint teaching staff who adhere to the qualification norms prescribed by the University Grants Commission (UGC).
According to the UGC, any college employing a teaching staff must ensure that the person either possessed a Ph.D. or had cleared National Eligibility Test (NET) or State-level Eligibility Test (SET).
On June 28, Registrar (in-charge) of the Madurai Kamaraj University (MKU) R. Sudha sent a circular to secretaries or principals of colleges affiliated to the university, informing them that only qualified staff can teach.
This insistence came after the Madras High Court raised objections over non-compliance of its 2014 order on the issues, based on a contempt petition filed by retired professor M. Anandakrishnan. The court had earlier directed the MKU, Manonmaniam Sundaranar University and the University of Madras to ensure adherence to UGC norms.
A professor from Yadava College says that the institution’s inability to make appointments has been a result of a dysfunctional management.
“About 3,400 students study in the college. Without enough qualified staff, we do not have enough strength to run the college. The management could have quickly made alternative appointments and chosen to pay UGC scale salary to the professors,” he said.
The college’s management currently comes under the ambit of Collector T.S. Rajasekar, Special Officer appointed by the government. The Collector said that he had instructed the teaching staff to continue their day-to-day affairs with the existing qualified teaching staff. Unqualified teaching staff can either procure a modified court order or specific instructions from the Madurai Kamaraj University regarding their functioning.
Principal (in-charge) M. Sekar said that the college was closed for a week because boilers at the hostel were not working. “The college will reopen on Monday,” he said.
