MADURAI: Madurai Kamaraj University (MKU) Vice-chancellor J Kumar is set to resign, citing health issues. Kumar assumed office on April 1, 2022, and his tenure is for a period of three years. Even though he has 11 months before his tenure ends, Kumar reportedly wishes to retire before.
According to sources, MKU has been facing a financial crisis for over four years. Every month, officials face challenges in obtaining funds from the higher education department. Over 6,000 audit objections prevented the university from getting grants from the state government, accumulated over 15 years during the former VC’s tenure. The higher education department has also imposed conditions, including restructuring salaries, reassigning administrative designations in accordance with the ministerial staff and cancelling inappropriate appointments, among others.
Even though Kumar tried to implement the conditions, the administrative staff approached the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court and got an interim stay. The court later ordered not to restructure the salaries or reassign the designations. Since the higher education department did not disburse funds to release the salaries as per the court orders, Kumar has decided to resign, sources said.
Speaking to TNIE, Kumar said that plans to submit a resignation letter within two weeks, citing his health condition. “There is no rule to submit my resignation. However, I have to discharge my responsibilities to the convener committee,” he said.