Varsity team talks to PMR staff, students

CHENNAI:A five-member team comprising Anna University (Chennai) professors and anofficial of the directorate of technical education (DoTE) on Wednesday inspectedthe PMR Institute of Technology in suburban Adyalampattu, a self-financingcollege which was in the news recently for alleged impersonation of faculty."We have video-graphed the deposition of all staff, managementrepresentatives and students. We verified the various charges against theinstitution. After examining the recorded deposition, we will submit a report tothe university on our findings," a member of the inspection team told TOI."The team will meet parents separately and submit a final reportwithin ten days. Initially, the team was slated to inspect the college onFebruary 18, two days after classes resumed on the campus. But the collegemanagement represented to us seeking time till March 2 to rectify certaininadequacies. We decided to send the team today," vice chancellor P MannarJawahar said.The team comprised professors P Kanagasabapathy, PDevadas Manoharan, V Jayabalan and T V Geetha; and additional director oftechnical education Elwin Chandramouli. The university had earlier this monththreatened to issue a show cause notice to the college management asking why itsaffiliation should not be withdrawn the institution allegedly produced a coupleof school teachers and outsiders as faculty during an inspection.This had sparked a students' unrest on February 9. The protestingstudents and parents alleged that there was no infrastructure on the campus anddemanded that they be transferred to other colleges. The students of the PMREngineering College, a sister-institution also joined theprotest.However, officials made it clear that students cannot betransferred from one college to another in the middle of an academic year anddecided to depute a team to assess the ground realities on the campus and takeaction accordingly. The officials also instructed the college management torectify the deficiencies on the campus."Originally, the universitydid not mention about infrastructural deficiencies in our college. The studentshad subsequently raised the issue of the aeronautical laboratory beingill-equipped. Now two laboratories are in place and we have procured theequipment for the third laboratory which will be installed soon. The supplierhad delayed delivery of the equipment. We have the required staff," P MuthuvelRaj, chairman, PMR group of institutionssaid.suresh.kumar3@timesgroup.com