MADURAI: Students of Madurai Kamaraj University alleged that a department head in charge ill-treated them and demanded the college administration to remove her from the post. Students of the UG Economics department complained that P Regina Devi verbally abused them, passed casteist comments and tampered with their attendance for the past few years.
Reportedly some students have even dropped out of college because of this. Students alleged that though they had brought the issue to the notice of college principal B George, no action has been taken so far. Over 10,000 students study in the Madurai Kamaraj University college. Most of them come from poor backgrounds and belong to SC and SC(A) communities.
Though the college functions under MKU, it charges fees on par with self-financing colleges. As the college lacks UGC-scaled staff, it appointed guest lecturer P Regina Devi as the head of the department (i/c) for consolidated pay based on seniority.
Speaking to TNIE, a girl student from BA Economics, requesting anonymity, said that once she got permission from a teacher to meet the principal. But Regina accused her of using this as a chance to meet her boyfriend and asked the co-staff to mark her absent.
The student alleged that a few staff acted in favour of Regina. “A male staff threatened me saying he would disclose ‘his close contact’ with her. I was depressed and even tried to commit suicide. But my mother trusted me and encouraged me to complain to the principal.”
Another student recalled how he was allegedly forced out of the class for no reason and made to ask permission every time he entered the class. “She treated me like a slave and used unparliamentary words. All students appeared for the semester exam online, but I was made to write arrears. Finally, I filed a complaint with the principal in March. He assured me to look into the issue, but no solution has been arrived at,” he said.
Refuting all charges, Regina Devi told TNIE, “I have been working as HOD since 2017. From June 2021 to March 2022, I did not come to the college. With the permission of the principal, I took online classes. In September and October, I came to college for only one day along with my child. I did not tamper with students’ attendance nor meet any student.”
When contacted, the MKU principal said he was aware of the issue. He assured to conduct a fair and transparent inquiry. Vice-chancellor J Kumar recorded grievances against Regina. He assured to visit the college and address the students to gain back their trust.