The Syndicate of the University of Kerala on Friday instituted an inquiry into the unsavoury circumstances that had led to the suspension of the youth festival recently.
A four-member subcommittee comprising Syndicate members K.G. Gopchandran, G. Muralidharan, R. Rajesh, and S. Jayan has been tasked with examining the complaints that had cropped up during the five-day event. The university will decide on its future course of action, including completing the festival, on the basis of the subcommittee’s findings.
The panel will delve into various controversies that dogged the festival, including allegations of biased judging, bribery charges as well as clashes among activists of students’ organisations.
The Syndicate has also resolved to constitute a larger committee that will include cultural and literary experts to reform the university’s festival manual. The committee that is likely to be headed by the Dean of Fine Arts will consider measures to address several long-standing lacunae that have often impeded the smooth conduct of the event. For instance, several competitors have bemoaned the lack of arrangements to videograph the competition items, to serve as evidence while considering appeals, as a major shortcoming.
Tenure of students’ union
Vice-Chancellor in-charge Mohanan Kunnummal, who chaired the meeting, faced criticism from a section of Syndicate members when the issue of extending the tenure of the students’ union came up for discussion. While the Syndicate members demanded that the tenure be extended, Prof. Kunnummal stood firm on his stance to dissolve the existing union and initiate steps to constitute the next panel.
Reposting Principal
The Syndicate also decided to seek legal opinion on a proposal to reappoint the former Principal of MSM College A. Muhammed Thaha to the post. The matter was taken up for discussion after a Syndicate subcommittee had recommended the move. Dr. Thaha had been removed from the post after the university found him to be responsible for lapses behind the controversial admission of former Students’ Federation of India (SFI) leader Nikhil Thomas on the basis of fake degree certificates.
