AUT, PUEU demand action against Periyar University V-C under Tamil Nadu Universities Laws Amendment Act

AUT and PUEU urge Tamil Nadu Govt to take action against Periyar University VC for misuse of power.

The Association of University Teachers (AUT) and the Periyar University Employees Union (PUEU) urged the Tamil Nadu Government to take action against Periyar University Vice-Chancellor under the Tamil Nadu Universities Laws (Amendment) Act for allegedly misusing his powers.

The Association of University Teachers (AUT) Tamil Nadu president M.S. Balamurugan said the AUT hailed the recent Supreme Court judgment and considered that the judgment would go a long way in clearing the bottlenecks existing in the Centre-State relations as well as the role of the Governor, the ex officio Chancellor, in the field of higher education. The AUT congratulated the Government of Tamil Nadu for its strenuous efforts in achieving this milestone. The Tamil Nadu Universities Laws (Amendment) Act, 2022, one of the ten bills cleared by the Supreme Court, had now become a law. All State universities, which were now brought under the real control of the State government, were crying for immediate attention to various problems that had crept into the university system, ever since the high-handedness of the Chancellor, Ms. Balamurugan added.

Demanding stern action against Periyar University Vice-Chancellor R. Jagannathan for allegedly misusing his powers, Mr. Balamurugan said the university needed serious attention from the State government. It was a well-known fact how Mr. Jagannathan misused his powers and victimised people who spoke against the administration, including K. Prem Kumar, former general secretary of the Periyar University Teachers Association (PUTA), with termination from service for making a representation to the ex officio members of the Syndicate on the illegal re-employment granted to a preferred teacher.

Likewise, the two government nominees, R. Subramani and R. Sekar, in the Periyar University Syndicate, who should act against this victimisation, supported the agenda brought by the university and supported the termination of Mr. Prem Kumar. The action of these two government nominees brought an indelible stain for the State government, the Higher Education Department and Chief Minister M.K. Stalin. So while AUT sought action against the Vice-Chancellor, it also demanded removal of these government nominees who acted loyal to the university administration instead of the government. The Supreme Court judgment has cleared the path for the State government to initiate action against these people. The reformation in higher education should first start from Periyar University, which functioned in the name of Periyar E.V. Ramasamy, a social reformer who fought for social justice, Mr. Balamurugan added.

Similarly, PUEU legal advisor I. Elangovan demanded the removal of Mr. Jagannathan under Section 12(a) (removal of Vice Chancellor) of the Tamil Nadu Universities Laws (Amendment) Act. Based on the complaints earlier sent to the government by the PUEU, PUTA, and other affected people by the misuse of power by the university administration, the government to take action against the people concerned and cancel the appointments made against social justice in the university, Mr. Elangovan added.