TN Guv airs concern over prosecution of VCs, professors over

Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit on Thursday expressed concern over the prosecution of vice-chancellors and professors for corruption, and said it was a blot on civilisation.

The vigilance raids on two former Vice-Chancellors, the arrest of a sitting Vice-Chancellor and suicide by a former Registrar in the last two years bore testimony to the condition, Purohit said in his address at a conference on Chancellor's vision 2030: Innovating Education in the Era of Industry 4.0, here.

"It worries me when I see Vice-Chancellors and Professors are prosecuted for corruption. It is a blot on the civilisation and this should never happen," he said.

At the time of my assumption as Governor-Chancellor, six out of 20 state varsities were headless with no VCs as a result of which the administration was affected, he noted and said in some Universities, the post had remained vacant for more than a year.

There were also widespread allegations about the quality of those selected for the post of Vice-Chancellors and the process involved in the selection, he said.

"The vigilance raids on two former Vice-Chancellors, the arrest of a sitting Vice-Chancellor and the suicide committed by a former Registrar in the last two years bear testimony to the condition.

After I was appointed as the Governor-Chancellor, the process of filling up the posts of Vice-Chancellors was changed.

Since it is known to the entire academia of Tamil Nadu that transparency has been observed in appointments of Vice- Chancellors, the expectation of the public and the student community was that the University administration should be "highly disciplined, corruption-free" and in accordance with the statute.

"I expect all of you to work with total dedication and leadership," he said.

If the higher echelons of University and College managements do not practise proper moral values, how can there be an expectation about the inculcation of right values in the youth of the State? he asked.

Vice Chancellors and Professors by their conduct should serve as beacon lights to guide the younger generation on the right path so as to achieve the goal of progress and prosperity in the society, Purohit said.