Chennai: Tamilnadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit today made a shocking claim that several crores of rupees were involved in the appointment of University Vice-Chancellors in the State.
Speaking at a conference on ‘Enhancing Quality Education’ at T Nagar here, the Governor, who is the Chancellor of all State-run universities, said,”After assuming charge as Governor of Tamilnadu, I came to know that the post of Vice-Chancellor in State Universities was bought by shelling out several crores. I did not believe it at first. But after I discovered it myself, I was concerned and wanted to change the system.”
“The appointment of Vice-Chancellors should only be on the basis of merit. The nine Vice-Chancellors I appointed was done only by merit of their qualifications,” he said.
By rule, the appointment of Vice-Chancellors in the States is done by the Governors after considering the recommendations of the VC search panel.
Three members- the Governors nominee, Senate nominee and Syndicate nominee will form the search committee to select the candidates. The shortlisted candidates are interviewed by the Governor before the appointments to the Vice-Chancellor’s chair are made.
Purohit’s shocking claim that there is a scam worth several crores involved in Vice-Chancellor appointments in the State can only mean that corruption had been rampant in the highest chairs of the education system here.
Purohit, who has been speaking against corruption ever since he assumed charge as Tamilnadu Government, had said last month that ‘countries that have shunned corruption have made great strides, thus proving to the world that graft is the greatest impediment to progress and development’.
He said this while speaking at an event to mark the 125th anniversary celebrations of Swami Vivekananda’s historic speech at the World Parliament of Religions at Chicago. Purohit also exhorted students to adopt a simple lifestyle like the saints and embrace peace.