Madras University professors call for bureaucrat to be appointed registrar

Former officials suggest appointing a bureaucrat as the next registrar at the University of Madras due to financial struggles.

Senior professors and former officials of the University of Madras have suggested that the Tamil Nadu Higher Education department install a bureaucrat as the next registrar of the institution. The present registrar’s tenure ends on June 25, 2025.  

The current financial position of the university and its attendant problems have left the institution reeling, with monthly salary payments becoming a challenge. The decisions are inordinately delayed, and university officials are forced to visit the convener committee members in their respective offices. The university has been functioning without a Vice-Chancellor for nearly two years.

Last week, the university staff and teachers staged a sit-in after office hours as it became apparent that the salary and pension for the month of May would not be disbursed. The university usually pays salaries by the end of the month. The Higher Education department released the salary on Monday (June 2) evening, after a whole day’s protest by the staff. 

There are precedents to having a bureaucrat as registrar, said a former professor. An academician was appointed as registrar after the university’s functioning improved, he said.

A former assistant registrar, who has worked with three Vice-Chancellors, said that bureaucrats had been brought in on three different occasions in the past. “K. Ashok Vardhan Shetty took over as registrar in 1989 and continued till 1991. Later, D. Jothi Jegarajan was made registrar for four months, followed by P. Kolappan for six months. Both of them had served as commissioners of the Chennai Corporation,” said Kothandaraman, a former official of the university. 

The official said that during Mr. Shetty’s tenure, he was able to quell groupism that had risen among the faculty. The groupism had severely affected the university’s functioning. 

When trouble began brewing again in 1999, the government appointed bureaucrats for about 10 months, after which appointment to the post was made by calling for applications, the official said.