more-inCondemning the non-representation of Dalits in the appointment of Vice-Chancellors in Tamil Nadu, Madurai Kamaraj University Scheduled Castes / Scheduled Tribes Teachers’ Association (MUSTA) has demanded the dissolution of V-C search committees for three universities and rejection of the names recommended by them recently to the Governor. In a letter sent on Wednesday to Tamil Nadu Governor, Chief Minister, Higher Education Secretary and all the Dalit MLAs in the State, MUSTA had alleged that the names recommended by the search committees for Madurai Kamaraj University, University of Madras and Anna University did not include any Dalits. “Should it not apply for the V-C Search Committees then?” he asked. Communal preferenceAlleging that members of V-C Search Committees often gave preference to persons from their own communities, MUSTA has said in its letter that lack of representation of Dalits in V-C posts was, therefore, a consequence of the absence of Dalits in the search committees. Pointing out that there had been only six or seven Vice-Chancellors from Dalit communities in the past five decades among all the universities in the State put together, Mr. Nagoorkani said, “There is no dearth for qualified academicians from Dalit communities.

Source: The Hindu May 24, 2017 19:18 UTC