Varsity selects students for B.Ed without applications

Applications were submitted a month after rankings, interview

Chennai:

Manonmaniam Sundarnar University in Tirunelveli prepared the list of selected candidates for B.Ed course in the distance education, a month before the submission of the applications, according to documents available with Express.

The documents also reveal that then vice chancellor R T Sabapathy Mohan, a close aide of then Higher Education Minister K Ponmudy, personally handed over the applications of some of the candidates (as mentioned in documents in green ink) after the list was prepared.



The marking in green ink mentions ‘VC Sir gave in person’ highlighting the personal interest of vice-chancellor in submitting the applications, for which the selection was made a month earlier.



The documents also reveal that the bogus list of selected candidates which were duly signed by university officials on November 18, 2010, had interview marks posted with selection done on ranking. Surprisingly, the candidates were submitting their applications only in the month of December.



It is just the tip of the iceberg, said R Ramesh, the newly appointed director of distance education in Manonmaniam Sundarnar University, who was key in exposing the scam. Interestingly, Higher Education Secretary R Kannan and Law Secretary R Kathirvel appointed Ramesh after a surprise visit to the varsity recently.



Manonmaniam Sundarnar University Teaching and Administrative Staff Welfare Association allege that money was changed in a big way to give admission to 500 candidates. The association alleges that for each B.Ed seat Rs one lakh might have been collected. Most of the candidates selected are from Villupuram, Chidambaram and Chennai region.



Interestingly, the entire admission for B.Ed course is voilative of Tamil Nadu Collegiate norms. While as per norms, Tamil branch should have only 25 seats, the vice-chancellor has followed a different norm by allocating 376 seats (75.2 per cent), said Ramesh.



Similarly as per norms, Mathematics should have about 20 per cent (100 seats) of the allocated seats, but the vice-chancellor allocated a mere 2.8 per cent (14 seats). The same applies to other streams also.



The distance education director also said many of the candidates obtained experience certificates from a matriculation school instead of it being signed duly by a chief educational officer. Not only that no entrance test was conducted to select the candidates, Ramesh said.

Ramesh said more skeletons would tumble out if a vigilance enquiry is carried out as there are numerous allegations against the then vice-chancellor.