CHENNAI: The administrative void in Tamil Nadu’s public-funded higher education sector is reaching an alarming level with 14 of the 22 state-run universities already functioning without vice-chancellors (V-Cs) and two more to become headless in four months.
As these universities also function as affiliating institutions for colleges, academicians warn that the administrative chaos would not remain contained to the universities alone, but also impact the higher education sector at large.
The number of universities without V-Cs would have already been 16 if not for the extension of one year granted by Governor RN Ravi, when the three-year tenure of the V-Cs of Manonmaniam Sundaranar University and Alagappa University came to an end last week.
The extension received mixed reactions with some opining that it is better to have a V-C instead of the administration being taken over by the convenors’ committee, while others pointed out that this was yet another display of the governor relentlessly not allowing the state government to have a larger say in the administration, which led to the issue in the first place.
The state asserted its right, backed by the Supreme Court’s landmark order granting “deemed assent” to 10 bills that took away powers to appoint V-Cs from the governor in 18 universities in April. However, the matter is still in a legal wrangle after a division bench of the Madras High Court stayed the operation of nine of these bills.
Moreover, the governor can grant such extensions only if the acts governing the respective universities have the provisions to do so. For instance, the tenure of the V-C of Thiruvalluvar University also ended last week along with the other two. “He cannot be given extension as the university statute doesn’t allow for extension of the term of the V-C,” said a senior official of Thiruvalluvar University.
The other two universities where the V-Cs’ tenure will end in four months, in the first week of January 2026, are Mother Teresa Women’s University (MTWU) and the Tamil Nadu Open University (TNOU). While MTWU’s statute allows for extension, TNOU’s doesn’t.
By January T N Dr. MGR Medical University and T N Dr J Jayalalithaa Fisheries University will be the only ones among the 20 state varsities that have governor as chancellor to have V-Cs. The TN National Law University and TN Jayalalitha Music and Fine Arts University do not face the problem as the Chief Justice of the Madras High Court and the chief minister are the respective chancellors and not the governor.
“Extending tenure of V-Cs by one year is not a solution to this long-standing problem. V-C is head of the university and the leadership vacuum if stretching into years will have a serious impact on the quality of higher education. It’s a very sorry state of affairs,” said noted academician S P Thyagarajan.
“Amid this fight of ego and politics, ultimately the students, who are the future of the nation, are paying the price. I would suggest the state government and the governor to come to the table and sort out issues,” added Thyagarajan.“The temporary conveners’ committee can only manage daily operations, while recruitment, curriculum updates, certifications, and financial clearances are severely delayed. Efforts should be taken to break this logjam,” said P Duraisamy, former V-C of University of Madras.