AUT opposes re-employment of preferred teachers in Periyar University

The Hindu

09-06-2025

The Association of University Teachers (AUT) Tamil Nadu demanded not to give re-employment to preferred teachers in Periyar University and immediately stop the approval given to an agenda by the past administration of the university.
In the 116th meeting of the Syndicate on November 22, 2024, Periyar University granted re-employment for nine months till March 31, 2026, to V.R. Palanivelu, Professor of the Department of Management, who is superannuating on June 14, 2025. The faculty members alleged that this re-employment would incur an additional financial loss to the tune of ₹26.67 lakh to the university in the academic year 2025-26.
Re-employment should be given only to the teachers, who are retiring in the middle of an academic year. But the past university administration allegedly gave re-employment to preferred teachers and denied re-employment for a few.
AUT general secretary, K. Raja, said that granting re-employment to a few preferred teachers was a violation of the rules. The Registrar in-charge, vide his circular dated April 23, 2025, declared that the university was on vacation from May 3 to June 29 and reopens on June 30, 2025. As per Chapter VIII, Section 12(2) of the University Statutes, full-time teachers of the university shall be entitled to a summer vacation of two months from May 1 to June 30 (both days inclusive) and all gazetted holidays.
The university, in its 102nd syndicate meeting held on January 11, 2019, adopted in writing that the academic year of Periyar University is to be from July 1 to April 30, with May and June being the vacation in consonance with the general rule followed by the State universities, Mr. Raja added.
Stating that few teachers were denied re-employment at Periyar University, Mr. Raja said N. Rajendhiran, former HoD of Management Studies, was relieved from service, denying re-employment as he attained superannuation in June 2018. This denial was done based upon an earlier denial of re-employment to S. Murugesh, former HoD of Botany, as he attained superannuation in June 2017. As per the resolution of the Syndicate, re-employment was to be granted only to those teachers retiring on or after July 1 of each academic year.
Contrasting this, the university granted re-employment (July 1, 2022, to May 2023) to P. Kumaradhas, HoD, Physics, who attained superannuation in June 2022. Not only Mr. Kumaradhas, but also professors S. Anbazhagan and C. Selvaraj were granted re-employment in July 2023 and at the same time, A. Muthusamy, a Mathematics Department professor, was denied re-employment and was relieved from service on June 30, 2024. Now the university granted re-employment for Mr. Palanivelu, who is retiring on June 14, 2025, Mr. Raja added.
Stating that teachers who raised their voices against these illegalities were crushed by the university, Mr. Raja said that as assistant professor K. Premkumar, in his capacity as the then general secretary of the Periyar University Teachers' Association, drew the attention of the ex-officio members of the Syndicate to this gross violation for providing re-employment to Mr. Kumaradhas, he was vindictively suspended and subsequently terminated from service.
The AUT demands to immediately revoke and annul the vindictive termination of Mr. Premkumar and reinstate him and immediately stop the Syndicate approval granted to the re-employment of Mr. Palanivelu. The Higher Education department should conduct an on-the-spot inquiry into the illegal re-employment granted to professors Kumaradhas, Anbazhagan, and Selvaraj and the denial of the same to professors Rajendhiran and Muthusamy and initiate steps to recover the financial loss of ₹86.42 lakh by granting re-employment to these three professors. Likewise, punitive action should be taken on the perpetrators of these conscious violations, Mr. Raja added.