The recent cry for disbursal of salary to teaching and non-teaching staff of Madurai Kamaraj University has once again brought the spotlight to the institution and the crisis it faces. 

The impending crisis exposing the failing higher education in the State demands immediate attention for revival.

However, the repetitive calls for safeguarding such a prestigious university which served and still serves the education needs of thousands of rural students every year end only in vain, decry professors. 

But, making a point clear, the Commissioner of Collegiate Education E. Sundaravalli during the senate meeting, which was held on March 28, 2025, stated that the State government could no longer bear the burden of paying pensioners and clarified: “It is the responsibility of the university to come up with ideas for revenue generations.” 

Despite the clarification from a representative of the State government, the university seems to have not taken any fruitful steps towards formulating ideas for alternative revenue generation.  

The administrative roadblock fuelled by the delay in appointment of Vice-Chancellor, along with insufficient funds, has stymied the institution’s progression towards self-sustainability, worry faculties.  

C. Muniyandi, general secretary of MUFA, says that while the institution which once generated its own revenue through distance education and examination fees collected from affiliated colleges faced a depletion in the earning once University Grants Commission (UGC) altered norms for distance education and more autonomous colleges came up.  

These developments coupled with decline of grants from the Union government and research institutions completely cut off the revenue which was used to pay salary and for the development of the university, he adds. 

Along with this, since many university colleges were converted into government colleges, a part of revenue from those colleges also stopped, he states.  

As the institution reached an impasse in finding a solution for its recovery, it sought the support of the Tamil Nadu government under which the institution operated, Mr. Muniyandi adds.  

Sankar Natesan, Professor and Head, School of Biotechnology, MKU, argues that the block grant and the additionality grant from the State government were enough to pay both the teaching and non-teaching staff in the university.  

“It was only for the payment of pensioners and other developmental activities revenue from the university was needed,” he adds.  

But, again, the audit objections which were stacked over several years put a stop to the grants and emergency funds which were to be released by the Union and State governments, he notes.  

The audit objections, which had reached more than 6,000, he claims, had objections marked even about a decade ago.

Former member of Madurai Kamaraj, Manonmaniam Sundaranar, Mother Teresa and Alagappa University Teachers’ Association (MUTA) R. Murali says that clearing the objects of such a scale was impossible to clear.  

“As many of it had objections to even transport allowances claimed by former professors and staff who had travelled when they were in service, it is an arduous task to clarify each of them by tracing their reason,” he adds.  

The payment of temporary workers who were admitted through back door employment and unaccounted money spent on other works were among the few objections, Mr. Murali notes.  

However, Mr. Natesan says that 2,400 of them were cleared by a committee constituted to study and work on the objections.  

As every other alternative way has hit a roadblock, he said there were a few ways for revenue generation by using the available resources of the university.  

One such was renting the world-class film technology lab developed on the university premises. 

“As filmmakers, documentary filmmakers, short-film directors, music album producers, etc., from across the State march to Chennai to have their post-production works completed, the lab in the university with all the necessary equipment can be rented for editing and other technical works,” he suggests. 

Mr. Natesan’s another idea which was reciprocated by other staff and pensioners during a recent protest on the campus was the utilisation of the computers and other instruments bought under the Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA) phase – II for building an incubation centre.

“As a building was constructed and a computer lab installed under the project, instead of leaving it idle, it could be rented for online examinations conducted by organisations like National Testing Agency (NTA),” he adds.  

Additionally, the instruments which were brought and installed in the respective departments could be placed under one roof on the second floor of the RUSA building, he points out.  

Serving double purposes, the instruments installed under the incubation centre could be used by students on weekdays.  

“Outsiders who wish to develop any form of ideas, be it business or research or product, can test it in the lab by paying a certain amount as rent. They can also have double benefits of utilising the subject experts of the institution for their research,” he notes.  

When an individual was granted a project from any organisation or Union government, by utilising the incubation centre at MKU, the fund would also be registered at MKU and the centre would also be registered, he adds.  

Seeing that as a progression for the university, Mr. Natesan said that the fruitful utilisation of the incubation centre could be shown as a marker for obtaining more grants from the UGC for the university.  

Another idea of his was to make the university health centre a public hospital to increase its independent revenue.  

More than ₹4 lakh was spent every month to pay the doctors and hospital staff, and that too was borne by the university, he says.  

To at least fulfil the need for payment of doctors and staff, the hospital should allow the public to use basic facilities like ultrasound, x-ray, scan, among others, he adds.  

“When the university is surrounded by several villages, pregnant women and elderly can use it for their ante-natal and periodical checkup,” Mr. Natesan suggests.  

Putting a disclaimer to his suggestions, he says, “All the measures for revenue generation could be implemented with the imitative of the administration and that would happen only when the university administration starts working for a change.” 

Alike private institutions which do not even leave a single facility of its unused, public universities like MKU, Manonmaniam Sundaranar University, Mother Teresa Women’s University, should think of utilising its space and facilities for the welfare of the students who are dependent on them.