Kerala University Registrar “defies” V-C’s direction on use of official vehicle

Kerala University Registrar K.S. Anil Kumar has defied Vice-Chancellor Mohanan Kunnummal’s explicit instructions not to use the official vehicle.

In his order, the Vice-Chancellor had barred Dr. Kumar from using official resources, including the university’s vehicle. He also instructed Director (Planning and Development) Mini Dejo Kappen, who has been given the additional charge of Registrar, to take custody of the car keys and to ensure that the vehicle remains in the university garage. However, Dr. Kumar arrived at the university headquarters in the same car on Wednesday, claiming that he had no personal vehicle and that the university car was the only one available to him.

The security officer has reportedly submitted a report to the Vice-Chancellor, stating that the Registrar has maintained that this suspension was overturned by the university Syndicate and that he is entitled to use the official car by way of his position as the Registrar.

Meanwhile, BJP-backed Syndicate members accused Left-aligned Syndicate members and various organisations of preventing the Vice-Chancellor’s entry to the university campus. Syndicate member P.S. Gopakumar said this was not just an administrative issue, but a serious one involving intimidation.

Online meeting

Despite the chaos, the Vice-Chancellor chaired an online meeting of the Centre for Global Academics (CGA), which oversees international student affairs at the university. The meeting reportedly decided to grant admission to 93 foreign students across various affiliated colleges. As many as 2,620 candidates had applied for various programmes this year. The selected students, mostly from Arab countries, Africa and Sri Lanka, will be admitted to undergraduate and postgraduate programmes including BA, BCom and MA. While the meeting was held in Dr. Kumar’s absence, Dr. Kappen and CGA Director Sabu Joseph participated in the meeting.