Govt college has 74 staff, 100 students

TNN, Nov 1, 2010,

PUDUCHERRY: A government college in the union territory of Puducherry has 74 teaching and non-teaching faculty members, but just 130 students, reveals a reply to an RTI query filed by an activist.

According to the replies given by public information officer and principal of Bharathiar Palkalaikoodam, M Jayaraman, the college has a staff strength of 74, while the student strength stood at a meagre 130. Rajiv Gandhi Human Rights Awareness Organization president P Ragupathy had filed the RTI query.

The only government performing and fine arts college in Puducherry, it has three departments and offers four-year undergraduate programmes in music, dance and fine arts. The students' strength in the music department, across all four years, is 29, while the number of students in dance and fine arts departments stood at 13 and 88 respectively.

Pondicherry University has denied permanent affiliation to the college and has been granting only provisional affiliation, which needed renewal every year. The university has been telling the government society that runs the college that it should employ only UGC-qualified teaching faculty to handle degree classes. In this academic year, after granting provisional affiliation, the university has sought a report from the college on whether the management had complied with the rules and regulations.

"The university has granted provisional affiliation to the college for this academic year. The reasons for granting only provisional affiliation cannot be divulged at this stage," Pondicherry University assistant registrar (academic) B N K Radipe told The Times of India when asked why the university denied permanent affiliation to the college.

The college spends almost Rs 17 lakh per month on salaries to its staff members. The government has posted a considerable number of staff members of the college to other departments on deputation but they draw their salaries from the society, which runs the college. TOI had reported the case of the former principal of the college, Dr M Hariharan, who has been posted as officer on special duty to constitute Lalit Kala Academy and Sangeet Natak Academy, and has been drawing salary from the college without doing any work.

A cross-section of academicians and artistes were of the opinion that the society must engage only UGC-qualified teaching faculty members to handle degree classes and create adequate opportunities for students to interact with eminent artistes in the country to revive the college.

However, Jayaraman cited lack of adequate opportunities' for artistes in Puducherry as one of the major reasons for the poor enrolment ratio of students. "The government must release adequate funds and create awareness among the students to take up performing and fine arts as their career," he said.