Self-financing college principals should retire at 62, says Bharathiar University

Coimbatore: Putting to rest the confusion over the retirement age of principals of self-financing colleges affiliated to it, the Bharathiar University confirmed that it is 62.
The university had last week sent a circular to the principals of all self-financing colleges under it, saying ‘No principal after the age of 62 years shall be appointed/employed or continued in any statutory/non-statutory position in self-financing colleges affiliated to the Bharathiar University’.
While, as per the state’s order, the retirement age of principals of self-financing colleges is 62, the university’s syndicate had passed a resolution in September 2017 raising it to 65. Following this, the state had sent a letter to the university, asking it to stick to 62 as the retirement age. Some self-financing college principals had filed a litigation and the Madras high court had asked the state to ‘revisit’ the decision.
BU vice-chancellor P Kaliraj said the state has made it clear that the retirement age is 62. While the court had asked to revisit the decision, the retirement age still stands at 62 as per the state. “We have sent a common circular to all self-financing institutions under us asking them to follow the age limit of 62 for principals. A total of 12 self-financing colleges have principals who are over 62. We will send them individual notices on Monday,” he said.
Kaliraj said the university will not appoint principals above the age of 62 as exam coordinators or in other official capacities, and such colleges will also have to face issues in affiliation.
Syndicate members of the university and members of university teachers’ associations said that self-financing colleges were trying to bring into the university’s syndicate principals over the age of 62.
P Thirunavukkarasu, syndicate member of the university and chairman of the Association of University Teachers, Coimbatore zone, said, of the two syndicate member posts meant for college principals, one is vacant and another will fall vacant by December. “Colleges are trying to get their principals, who are above the age of 62, elected to these posts. In some cases, there are principals who are aged 67. Across the state, the retirement age of self-financing college principals is 62. Only under the Bharathiar University, colleges have been violating the state’s order,” he told TOI.
Principals of self-financing colleges, meanwhile, stood their stand. President of the Principals Association of Bharathiar University, A Ponnusamy, said, as per the university’s syndicate decision, the retirement age is 65, and in some cases, they had got special permission for it to be 67 for senior people. “When the state said it should be 62, we fought it in the court and it had asked the state to revisit it,” he said.
However, academicians said the court had asked the state to ‘consider it’, and the state’s stance was that the retirement age should be 62.