SALEM: The Tamil Nadu Government College Teachers Association (TNGCTA), Salem Zone, has alleged that government and government-aided colleges affiliated to Periyar University were not notified about the recently concluded election for the graduate constituency. They claimed that only members from private colleges had received information regarding the election.
Periyar University conducts elections for the graduate constituency to elect representatives to the university senate. The senate is one of the governing bodies of the university that includes representatives from various colleges and plays a role in academic and administrative decisions. It comprises colleges under four districts, namely, Salem, Namakkal, Dharmapuri and Krishnagiri. From each district, two graduates are elected as representatives to the senate.
According to the Periyar University website, the notification for the vacancy was issued on January 23, 2026, while the last date for submitting nominations was at 3 pm on February 7. Polling was scheduled on February 28, followed by scrutiny and counting of votes on the same day. As per rules, only graduates who have enrolled in the Register of Graduates at least three months prior to the election date are eligible to vote or contest.
The teachers' association alleged that the election was conducted without informing the government and government-aided colleges, resulting in graduates from those institutions being unable to participate. They said eight graduates from the four districts were later declared elected unopposed and claimed that all of them were from private colleges.
State Treasurer of the Tamil Nadu Government College Teachers Association, R Prakash, alleged, "Without prior notice to government and government-aided colleges, the university conducted the election. For the past nine years, elections were not held, and now it has been conducted by informing only private colleges."
A Loganathan, secretary of the association's Salem Zone, also claimed that no notification had been received by government colleges. He said that student organisations were also not informed.
Responding to allegations, a senior professor and syndicate member of the university said the announcement for registration had been made three months before the election. He said the information was published on the university website, displayed on the notice board and also given through newspaper advertisements.
"For graduate constituency elections, no separate notifications are sent to individual colleges. Eight graduates from four districts have now been elected unopposed. We only verify whether they are registered graduates and do not differentiate based on college," he said. He also said that since the election had not been conducted for the past nine years, the university decided to hold it now to avoid leaving posts vacant.