A marked fall in admissions in Indian Maritime University and its affiliated colleges has become a cause for concern among academicians from the sector.
The IMU was established in 2009. The latest annual report on its website shows a steady drop in the number of admission over the years. In the first year, 1,361 candidates joined the institution and another 2,289 candidates took up programmes in its affiliated colleges.
In 2011-12, admissions peaked with 1,353 candidates being admitted to the IMU campus and another 2,364 candidates joining its affiliated colleges. However, in 2020-21 the figure slipped to 1,066 on the campus and 1,233 in affiliated colleges.
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A number of affiliated colleges have closed down the programmes. In two M. Tech courses, the admission is 33% of the sanctioned intake. IMU, Chennai, governs all the colleges and campuses across the country. At present, there are only seven campuses, down from 13.
P. Vijayan, the first Vice-Chancellor of the university, blamed lack of experienced administrators at the helm. For several years now, the university has been appointing retired bureaucrats as Vice-Chancellors.
The appointment of his successors has been mired in controversies. One V-C resigned in favour of a post in a management institute; another V-C’s appointment was mired in a legal tangle. His experience in a State University as registrar for a year was not considered sufficient merit to hold the V-C’s post.
Unlike other Central government-run universities, the IMU is under the ambit of the Shipping Ministry. However, the recruitment rules for the V-C post in the government gazette states that the selected person should be “an eminent educationist in the area of maritime management general management, science and technology with Ph.D degree”.
Another issue that has been contentious is the age of the incumbent candidate. According to the university rules, a person should not be over the age of 55 whereas the incumbent official took over the job after retirement from government service and holds the additional post of the Chairman of the National Shipping Board.
Some members of the Association of Indian Universities pointed out that it was enough if the V-C candidate fulfilled the mandatory educational qualification. However, they also pointed out that the since University did not fall under the Ministry of Education and the University Grants Commission cannot enforce its guidelines.
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