Madurai, Aug 22:
The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has sought a report from the Tamil Nadu government on why vice-chancellor posts remain vacant in nearly 14 state universities and what steps are being taken to fill them.
Justice B Pugalendhi issued the direction after the issue came up during the hearing of a writ petition challenging the appointment of S Muthaiah as in-charge Registrar of Madurai Kamaraj University.
The court noted that several universities are functioning without regular vice-chancellors, with registrars-in-charge handling their administration and convenor committees taking key decisions.
The judge directed the Additional Advocate General to obtain instructions from the Principal Secretary of the Higher Education Department on the reasons for the vacancies and the measures being taken to appoint regular vice-chancellors.
The court also recorded submissions from Muthaiah’s counsel that he possessed the required qualifications and had been appointed by the competent authority. It was further submitted that his role as registrar-in-charge was temporary and that the process of appointing a regular registrar was under way.
The matter has been posted for hearing after three weeks.