Kerala government reconstitutes Mahatma Gandhi University Syndicate

MG University, Kottayam. (File photo) After weeks of mounting criticism over administrative paralysis at Mahatma Gandhi University, the Kerala government on Saturday reconstituted the varsity Syndicate, restoring the statutory body whose absence had stalled key academic and administrative decisions.The reconstitution comes more than two months after the new United Democratic Front (UDF) government assumed office. The 15-member Syndicate includes Muvattupuzha MLA Mathew Kuzhalnadan and eight representatives from the higher education sector, including a woman member. It also has college teachers, Principals, and a research scholar as representatives.The delay in reconstituting the Syndicate had triggered discontent among pro-UDF sections within the university, particularly as the absence of a functional Syndicate had stalled several key academic and administrative decisions..According to Syndicate members, it has been more than two months since the university’s highest executive body last met. Officials said the last regular meeting was held on May 20, followed by a special sitting on May 25 to consider the conferment of honorary D.Litt. degrees on eminent personalities, including actor Mammootty.Under the university statutes, the Syndicate is required to meet at least once every two months. However, with no meeting convened since then, files relating to hundreds of students have remained pending, while matters requiring Syndicate approval have continued to pile up.Among the proposals awaiting clearance are the appointments of Principals to affiliated colleges, nominations to statutory academic bodies, and several administrative and financial decisions that cannot be implemented without the Syndicate’s approval.“The university has not even been able to issue certificates to Ph.D. scholars who have successfully completed their open defence because the Syndicate’s approval is pending,” said a Syndicate member. “Several other administrative decisions, including the release of funds for various academic programmes and proposals submitted by the 10 Syndicate sub committees, are also awaiting approval,” the member added.Syndicate members said an earlier request to the Vice-Chancellor (V-C) to convene a meeting had failed to evoke any response. They also alleged that the meeting of the Academic Council, another key statutory body mandated to meet once every six months, has been indefinitely delayed at the V-C’s intervention. Multiple attempts to contact the V-C for his response to the allegations remained unsuccessful.The allegations of administrative paralysis at the varsity come even as the V-C finds himself locked in an escalating confrontation with a section of the university’s employees.On Saturday, members of the Left-backed Mahatma Gandhi University Employees Association staged a protest on the campus, accusing the V-C of using large-scale inter-departmental transfers to target employees affiliated with the union. The demonstration followed an order issued on Friday transferring more than 20 members of the administrative staff.‘Conflict of interest’“The transfer and posting of MGU administrative staff have traditionally been the prerogative of the Registrar. However, the new V-C, backed by the Sangh Parivar, is attempting to override the established system through unwarranted interventions,” an office bearer of the association alleged.To buttress his argument, the office-bearer also cited the appointment of an employee currently pursuing litigation against the university over a promotion dispute as the head of the university’s legal wing.“This amounts to a clear conflict of interest,” he said. Published - July 25, 2026 07:58 pm IST