No full-time VC, registrar, Pondicherry varsity in doldrums

PUDUCHERRY: Blame it on poor academic and administrative policies over the years, Pondicherry University, which secured 13th position with 74.4 points in the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) in 2016, has slipped to the rank band of 101-150 in 2024.
The university does not have a full-time vice-chancellor (VC), registrar and finance officer.The VC post fell vacant after the extended tenure of Gurmeet Singh ended in Nov last year. Director (Studies, Educational Innovations and Rural Reconstruction) K Tharanikkarasu was posted as VC in-charge. Similarly, the posts of registrar and finance officer that fell vacant four or five years ago were filled on a temporary basis.
The failure of the university administration in filling up vital statutory posts, hundreds of vacant teaching and non-teaching faculty posts, conducting exams on schedule, declaring results of undergraduate exams before the last date of admissions into postgraduate courses, blatant misuse and abuse of power by decision-making authorities, favouritism and targeting faculty members and students, who expose poor administrative and academic policies were some of the reasons for the slump in its performance in recent times.
Besides, allegations of MBBS first-year question paper leak, which led to the postponement of exam has "exposed the sorry state of affairs" of the exam wing in the university.
"What is shocking is that a central university with vast resources and less constraints, offering quality education by high calibre faculty with quality research output, instead of becoming one among the top 10 or 20 universities in the country, is lagging far behind other central and state universities," said M Ramadass, former director of the varsity.
He pointed out that Central University of Punjab was ranked 83rd while Central University of Tamil Nadu was 99. "Among state universities, Kerala University was placed at 21, Bharathiyar University 26, Bharathidasan University 36, Alagappa University 47, Periyar University 56 and among deemed universities, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham 7, Amity University 32 and Christ University 60 and Barathi Vidhya Peeth 78th rank," he said.
University sources said the process for selecting the vice-chancellor commenced three months ago and the university issued a notification on Aug 20, inviting online applications from eligible candidates for the post of registrar.