The Governor of Tamil Nadu, Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar, has received a detailed dossier alleging academic, financial and governance irregularities in the state’s higher-education sector, submitted to him this week in his capacity as Chancellor of the University of Madras. Loyola College, Chennai, is the principal subject of the representation.
The dossier was submitted by R. Joseph D. Kennedy, India Representative of ECA Global (Ending Clergy Abuse) and an alumnus of the college. It draws on Right to Information applications, complaints filed before the University Grants Commission (UGC) and the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), orders of the State Information Commission, and representations to the Union Ministry of Education, and calls for the consistent enforcement of regulatory norms that apply to all colleges and universities alike.
Foreign Enrolment in An Unapproved Programme
At the centre of the dossier is an M.A. Philosophy programme alleged to have been run without the approval of the University of Madras, in which foreign nationals were enrolled. The representation contends that the admission of foreign students to a programme sanctioned by no competent authority raises unresolved questions of institutional oversight and national security that central agencies have not examined. These claims are among the matters already pending before the NHRC.
An Offshore Company and A Buried UGC Complaint
The dossier further alleges that certain activities of the college were routed through a Dubai-registered private company, Loyola Alumni Events LLC, and questions whether the arrangement complies with Indian law, including the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act.
It also points to a 2021 complaint before the UGC alleging the misappropriation of several crores of rupees in UGC funds by the college. According to the representation, the complaint has remained unaddressed by the regulator for years. The Chancellor’s office has been urged to have it re-examined.
Separately, the dossier records that the college’s alumni body publicly lists formal “chapters” abroad, including one in Pakistan, and asks whether an autonomous Indian institution maintaining such structures has been reviewed by any competent authority.
The allegations remain unproven and are pending before the relevant statutory forums. Loyola College has denied wrongdoing in its earlier responses to the authorities.
The Regulatory Pattern
The representation argues that although the same regulatory norms apply to minority and non-minority institutions without distinction, the violations documented in the dossier cluster among a set of minority institutions, with the most serious concentrated at Loyola College. It cites aided non-minority colleges in the state as having operated within University and UGC norms.
Much of the supporting material has emerged through the Right to Information Act and orders of the State Information Commission directing the disclosure of institutional records. A referral at the level of the Union Ministry of Education has also been cited as part of the escalation.
The Chancellor’s Role
Under the university statutes, the Governor of Tamil Nadu serves as Chancellor of the University of Madras, a role carrying a supervisory dimension over the university and its affiliated colleges. The representation was routed through that office as the constitutional authority positioned above the ordinary administrative chain of college, university and regulator.
The meeting was described as a serious hearing. No specific direction or commitment has been reported. By constitutional convention, a Chancellor acts on statutory and institutional advice, and any action would follow due process.
The complaints before the NHRC and the UGC remain live, and further applications and follow-up representations are said to be in preparation.
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