University of Calicut
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| University of Calicut | |
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| Established: | 1968 |
| Type: | Public |
| Vice-Chancellor: | Prof. Anwar Jahan Zuberi |
| Location: | Thenhipalam, Malappuram, Kerala, India |
| Campus: | Urban |
| Affiliations: | UGC |
| Website: | www.universityofcalicut.info |
The University of Calicut is an affiliating university in Thenjipalam, in the district of Malappuram in Kerala, India. Apart from the main campus, it has several off campus centres. Anvar Jahan Zuberi, a professor in Aligarh Muslim University, is the Vice Chancellor of the University.[1]. The main campus in Thenjipalam has departments in most of the scince and humanities areas. The departments offer post graduate courses and research programmes. However, the main business in the campus is administration and conduct of examinations for all the affiliated colleges which number above 250. For this reason the University has often been criticised as a Gumastalayam (abode of office clerks) rather than an academic centre. (Samakalika Malayalam weekly, March, April issues ran serial on the shabby state of universities in Kerala where this criticism was levelled at some length.). It has been a regular practice for some time to keep officially chosen administrators out of office and to have politically desirable persons usurp office. As of 2008, one T. K. Narayanan the leader of the pro-CPI(M) teacher's union has been wielding office of the registrar after suspending the officially appointed registrar Muhammed.[2]
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[edit] Teaching Departments
Important departments include mathematics, lifescience, botany, physics, chemistry, zoology,school of health sciences biotechnology, mass communication, language departments like Malayalam, English, Sanskrit, Hindi, Russian, Arabic etc. The campus witnessed some remarkable progress during the tenure of Dr. Seyed E. Hasnain as vice-chancellor. New amenities were created and computerisation drive was intensified. An observatory was set up in the campus. However, most of his achievements have been overturned by the politically motivated predecessors. CPI(M), the leader of the ruling co-alition of Kerala has control over the university. Media reports show that there is rampant corruption in almost any appointment/ affair in the University.
[edit] Colleges
Over 150 of these colleges are owned by private organisations or induviduals and most of them are aided by the state government.
[edit] School of health science
One of the major institutes of health sciences in india.The courses include medical biochemistry, medical microbiology, medical laboratory technology ,food sciene etc.
[edit] Historical context
Calicut University was established in 1968. Administered by a very able educator-administrator, Dr.M.M.Ghani, in its early years in the '70s, the University attracted a fairly sizeable set of young-ish talent. Some of the early faculty in the '70s and '80s would compare very favourably in terms of calibre, with the best institutes/universities of India and abroad. The University had especially strong faculty in Physics, Zoology, Chemistry, Botany, History, Malayalam, English and Physical Education. There was a certain vibrance to the whole campus. The Campus locales spread over around 400 acres in rural Malappuram district, had the feel of a hill station. T.P. Rajeevan a well known poet in Malayalam is the Public Relations Officer of the University.
From this high point of academia in the '80s, when among other things, a Cockroft-Walton particle accelerator was put in place on campus, the University has unfortunately steadily declined. Right now, it's almost the perfect example of how despite the general lack of societal inequality and high rates of literacy, good post-graduate education has suffered in Kerala. Bad administration and highly politicized employment policies have led to an alarming absence of good faculty, and to an extent, good students.
It is to be hoped that at some point, the academic vibrance of the '80s will return soon.
[edit] Criminal Politics
Calicut University Employees Union owing allegiance to CPI(M) is known for attacks on men of other organisations and even the Registrar of the University. See the Hindu report. They also have a history of sexually harassing fellow workers. A female staff named P. E. Usha whose legal battles against the University authorities and one Prakasan, an activist of Calicut University Employees Union who defamed her, has been a hot topic in the media for a few years [3] Also see [4] [5]
[edit] Harassment of female staff
A series of noted incidents following complaints by P. E. Usha an employee at the University put the University authorities in the dock [6]. Members of Calicut University Employees Union who made a slandering campaign against P. E. Usha were protected by the University authorities. [7] [8].
[edit] Pareeksha Bhavan
Pareeksha Bhavan, the branch of the university that oversees the conduct of examinations in over 250 affiliated colleges and which awards degrees is the largest wing of the university. The branch has been always in the news for interminable delay in the conduct of examinations, overturned schedules, illegal awarding of marks to the kin of the party bosses, computerisation gone awry etc. [9]The computerisation of tabulation and publication of results in the Pareeksha Bhavan was criticised as the stupidest use computers were ever put to in a serialised article on the poor performance of the University in Samakalika Malayalam weekly.
News reports states that the assistants (clerical staff) are over worked and their work involves heavy pressure. [10]
A former vice-chancellor of the University, Dr. Iqbal Husnain used to call this block a "hell" because of the extreme harsh working conditions there. The block was built in mid eighties according to a stupid plan by the engineering department of the University. It is widely rumored that one engineer copied a blue print of a hospital block to save work on an new building plan. The result is that the inner space of the block is extremely congested with hardly any free space for the movement of hundreds of students visiting the block everyday. Some press stories pointed out that the powers that be deliberately maintains this bock with its extremely harsh conditions as a penitentiary for the employees. On every storey there is a water filter cum cooler but it is deliberately kept unusable by the authorities. Unlike the other blocks the employees hardly get any supply of stationery. furniture etc.
[edit] Educational Multi-media Research Centre
The University's EMMRC headed by Dr. Amjad Ahamed is a prestigious educational multi-media production centre in India. Since its inception as AVRC the centre has regularly won national awards for multimedia productions.
[edit] See also
Calicut University Employees Union
P.E. Usha
[edit] External links
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