Delay in conversion of constituent units into govt. colleges resented

Teachers’ associations in Bharathidasan University (BDU) are piqued over the delay on the part of the State government to issue an order for takeover of constituent colleges across the central districts for conversion into government arts and science colleges.

According to members of Bharathidasan University Teachers’ Association and Teachers Association of Bharathidasan University, the university has been pushed into a situation of bearing substantial financial burden due to the necessity of collecting only fees as in government colleges.

Until last year, the university was in a position of collecting fee on a cost to cost basis for meeting operational costs and overheads including salaries of teachers. But the reduction in the fee this year to maintain parity with the extent collected by government colleges has meant additional expenditure for the university.

There are 10 constituent colleges in the fold of Bharathidasan University which is the highest under a State university in the State.

At the start of this academic year, the Higher Education Department had instructed the State universities to maintain status quo with regard to the teacher strength while instructing that the 41 constituent colleges under various State universities need to collect only the fee specified for government colleges. However, the government is yet to issue an order for conversion.

As far as Bharathidasan University is concerned, it has suffered a double whammy since it has to boot the expenditure towards rectification of damages caused to physical infrastructure to the constituent colleges in Nagapattinam, Vedaranyam, Thiruthuraipoondi and Aranthangi.

The Public Works Department of the State government has submitted a report of the damage caused to buildings of constituent colleges in the cyclone-affected districts.

The BDU is grappling with paucity of funds for carrying out restoration work on its main campus where 400 trees were uprooted and corrugated roofs of a few buildings were blown away.

The government has to avoid any more delay in issuing an order for conversion of constituent units into government arts and science colleges, a former functionary of one of the teachers’ associations emphasised.

According to official sources, the Directorate of Collegiate Education has completed the preparatory work for conversion of the 41 constituent units into government colleges.

Universities that are pivots for increasing the gross enrolment ratio in higher education must not be forced to incur heavy expenditure due to delay in administrative process, a senior professor of BDU said.

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