By openly saying that corruption was running into crores of rupees in the appointment of Vice-Chancellors of universities in the State, Governor Banwarilal Purohit has added value to the allegations being made for years by various sections that irregularities were rampant in the higher education sector of Tamilnadu. The Governor, who is the Chancellor of all State-run universities, has said he came to know about appointment of VCs on the basis of exchange of huge amounts of money. Stating that he was not able to believe that first but discovered it himself and decided to change it, Purohit, while speaking at an event in Chennai Saturday, said he had appointed nine Vice-Chancellors in TN purely on merit.
It is always better late than never and the Governor should initiate action against the culprits. In his twin positions as the head of the State and head of the universities, he has all the powers to take action against all corrupt practices and he should do it without any delay. It is worth mentioning here that the Governor has made these remarks a day after Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami met him at the Raj Bhavan, though it is not clear that whether he discussed the matter with the CM or not.
Purohit’s remarks have virtually strengthened the Opposition criticism against the appointment of Vice-Chancellors. While the PMK had demanded a CBI probe into alleged corruption in the universities, DMK president M K Stalin said soon after Purohit’s speech that had the Governor taken action instead of merely speaking about the ‘corrupt practices’ of the ruling party, the AIADMK’s rule would have come to an end, bringing relief to the people. On his part, Higher Education Minister K P Anbazhagan has said, “I am duty bound to clarify that the government has no role in the appointment of Vice-Chancellors.” In this scenario, all eyes are on the Governor and the action he is going to take on the issue.