Immediately provide funds to resolve pension, salary issues at MKU

Makkal Kalvi Kootiyakkam, a Madurai-based education forum, has urged the State government to immediately provide funds to resolve the pension and the salary issues of the employees of Madurai Kamaraj University (MKU).

In a press statement, the forum said the MKU was facing financial crisis for the past three years. Academics and educational organisations had requested the government to provide financial assistance to the university. However, the problem had gone so far that the payment of pension and salaries had been stopped.

Despite repeated requests, the government had not shown interest in resolving this issue. It was refusing to provide funds citing audit objections. The university had been reportedly suffering from various administrative irregularities for four years and the quality of education declining. The government should provide funds to improve higher education, the forum stressed.

If this situation continued, the university would not be able to even meet the expenses for basic facilities. The government should provide salaries and it should not be stopped, citing administrative problems. The right of pensioners and employees to receive salaries should be protected, it said.

Similarly, special funds should be allocated to all government universities that were struggling under financial burden and help them function properly. Strict action should be taken against the universities where corruption was rampant and management should be improved, said the statement.