MADURAI: The Association of University Teachers (AUT) on Tuesday submitted a petition to Chief Minister M K Stalin demanding that he immediately fill up vacancies in teaching posts of government colleges across the state to enhance the quality of education. The letter was also sent to the chief secretary, principal secretary to the department of higher education, and director of collegiate education.
In a letter, AUT State Deputy President P Thirunavukkarasu alleged that the staff of the joint director of collegiate education has been asking for bribes from the teaching faculties of government-aided and government colleges to get them to sanction Career Advancement Scheme (CAS) promotion papers.
"Some JDs in the state have allegedly personally contacted the teaching staff and asked for bribes in return for sanctioning their bills. This has put the teaching staff in distress, and acts in the detriment of higher education in the state," he stated.
Other issues that Thirunavukkarasu highlighted include a large number of vacancies, middlemen and college management allegedly collecting money from many people, and a number of vice-chancellors of state-run universities acting independently in appointing members to the administrative committees.
Given these, he sought the CM's intervention and efforts to fill up vacancies in a transparent manner. According to him, the AUT has brought these issues to the attention of the state government, but to no avail.