Minister for Higher Education K. Ponmudy has said he will boycott the convocation of Madurai Kamaraj University scheduled for Wednesday.
He told reporters in Chennai that the Governor-Chancellor had taken it up on himself to have a guest of honour at the convocation, going against the convention. Despite this being explained to the Governor-Chancellor’s office, it did not budge.
Mr. Ponmudy told reporters that it is the norm at the universities that the convocation date and the list of invitees are decided by the university administration. “I am the pro-Chancellor. But without informing me, the Vice-Chancellor asked the Chancellor who should be the guests. The Vice-Chancellor has accommodated the wishes of the Chancellor who should have consulted the Department of Higher Education and sent the panel of guests for approval. But that did not happen,” he said.
“The invitees include a chief guest but not a guest of honour, who is a Union Minister. We wonder whether the Governor-Chancellor is introducing politics in the conduct of the convocation. The Chancellor’s office should have consulted the Pro-Chancellor,” he said. It is only when an honorary doctorate is awarded is the term, guest of honour, used with respect to the person awarded the degree, he said.
The guest of honour is Union Minister of State L. Murugan, who according to the invitation will ‘deliver a special address’.
“When the Secretary of the Department of Higher Education got in touch with the Vice-Chancellor, his office said all the decisions were made by the Chancellor’s office. When the officials sought information from the Governor-Chancellor’s office, they were informed that this was how it would be done,” the Minister said.
The norm is that the Chancellor presides over a convocation and the Pro-Chancellor will speak after him. If the Chief Minister is invited as the chief guest, he delivers his speech after the Governor as he is the head of the Cabinet, he said. “When the Chancellor was called to New Delhi, I, as the Pro-Chancellor, distributed the degree certificates at Periyar University, Salem,” he recalled.
“We tried to tell the Vice-Chancellor that the Union Minister of State should not speak before me. We fear the Governor is indulging in politics... Hence, as the Pro-Chancellor and the Minister for Higher Education, I am boycotting the convocation,” Mr. Ponmudy said.
P. Balaram, former Director of the Indian Institute of Science, would be the chief guest at the convocation and would deliver the convocation address.
