Tamil Nadu Collegiate Education Director Goes On Leave; Technical Commissioner Gets Charge

Should Director of Collegiate Education be an academic?

The present Director of Collegiate Education has gone on leave on health grounds, and the government has appointed the Commissioner of Technical Education to discharge the Director’s duties in his stead.

The arrangement has renewed concerns over the administration of the department, which oversees 181 government arts and science colleges and seven colleges of education in Tamil Nadu.

Additional charge raises concerns

The Director heads the department responsible for the administration and regulation of colleges in the State. The post also carries the responsibility of chairperson of the Vice-Chancellor Convener Committee for Bharathidasan and Madurai Kamaraj Universities.

“The day-to-day operations of the department are adversely affected,” S. Suresh, general secretary of the Tamil Nadu Government College Teachers Association (TNGCTA), said in a statement.

The department handles institutional administration, disburses block grants to colleges and promotes curriculum design and faculty development programmes. It also deals with salaries and career advancement schemes (CAS) for staff and teachers in government and aided institutions.

“There is a significant delay in decision-making, raising concerns over the welfare of both faculty and students,” Dr. Suresh said.

This is not the first time that the Commissioner of Technical Education has been given additional charge of the department. The Director had gone on leave in September as well, and the government had then made a similar arrangement.

The Commissioner of Technical Education also serves as the chairperson of the Vice-Chancellor Convener Committee for Anna and Annamalai Universities. Dr. Suresh said assigning the department to an officer who already holds that responsibility had led to further bottlenecks.

Association seeks return to earlier practice

Before January 2024, senior principals of government colleges were appointed as the Director of Collegiate Education. The practice changed when the then government, citing administrative reasons, appointed an IAS officer to the post.

The appointment was initially stated to be for one year, but the practice continued. The department now faces a crisis, according to the account of the earlier appointments and the difficulties arising from the present additional-charge arrangement.

Dr. Suresh recalled that, in the past, the Joint Director in charge of the Planning and Development Division would be placed in charge whenever the Director was away. The Joint Director was the next officer in the hierarchy, according to him.

He said this arrangement provided continuity in decision-making and allowed the department to function smoothly. A senior principal, he argued, would be familiar with the entire operational framework of colleges and would be able to ensure effective administration.

Dr. Suresh also said that the Joint Director could fill in seamlessly when the Director went on leave, allowing daily operations to continue without disruption. The association’s position is therefore that the question of who should head the department is closely linked to uninterrupted decision-making and the administration of colleges.

Source: The Hindu