Univ skirts norms in nod for Loyola head

CHENNAI: In a controversial move the University of Madras has decided to grant qualification approval to Father B Jeyaraj who was appointed principal of the Loyola College by a selection committee which was not constituted as per UGC regulations.
The university syndicate's decision, academic pointed out, violates an interim ruling of the Madras high court in a related case.
As per UGC norms, selection committees constituted to appoint college principals and faculty must comprise nominees of the vice chancellor of the jurisdictional university.
However, several minority-administered colleges had in the recent past violated this stipulation and constituted their own selection committees claiming that they enjoyed unfettered powers under Article 30 of the Constitution.
Last year, the university had refused to grant qualification approval for 160 teachers including six principals of minority institutions who were appointed by such selection committees.
When the colleges challenged this before the Madras High Court, a division bench had on October 27, 2009, directed the university to grant provisional approval subject to the outcome of the writ petitions. However, the court had made it clear that "This order is applicable to those lecturers for whose appointment the approval is sought for from the university and will not be applicable to any further appointments, if any made." The Loyola College principal Jeyaraj was appointed on May 26 this year.
However, the college secretary represented to the university to grant qualification approval for Jeyaraj. At the university's syndicate meeting held in September, this application was rejected on two grounds. One, "the management of Loyola College did not follow the selection committee procedure prescribed by the UGC" and two, "Jeyaraj was appointed on May 26, 2010 i.e. after the date of the interim order of the high court of Madras."
Quite surprisingly, the issue was again tabled before the syndicate last week where it was resolved to grant provision approval for Jeyaraj and Syed Raffic Ahmed, principal, Quaide Milleth College for Men. The reason cited was that conditional approval was granted to principals of six other minority institutions last year.
A senior syndicate member sought to justify this saying "it was collectively felt that it would be better for a college to function with a full-time principal than without a proper head."