CHENNAI: Higher Education Minister P Viswanathan on Wednesday said an understanding has been reached with Governor Rajendra Arlekar on the appointment of vice chancellors to state universities and that another round of discussions is expected next week.
He was speaking to reporters after honouring 627 students at the National Education Day and National Urdu Day celebrations held at the University of Madras.
Viswanathan said he had met the governor last week along with School Education Minister A Rajmohan and Speaker JCD Prabhakar. However, he declined to disclose the details of the understanding, saying the government would make them public once it is finalised.
Around 14 state universities are functioning without regular V-Cs amid the prolonged dispute between the state government and the governor over the constitution of search committees for V-C appointments, which began during the previous DMK regime.
With the legal proceedings still pending, the government has made interim arrangements by appointing senior professors to discharge V-C responsibilities at some universities, the minister said. He clarified that these were not permanent appointments and the professors could be relieved at any time.
On the demand for an Urdu teacher training centre, Viswanathan said he would take up the proposal with CM C Joseph Vijay and explore its feasibility.
On the Rs 2,000-crore laptop scheme, he said the chief minister had directed to expedite procurement. Laptop configurations would be tailored to the requirements of different courses, with engineering students receiving devices suited to their technical needs and specifications different from those provided to arts and science students. He said the differences in configurations were based on academic requirements and not preferential treatment.