Kerala University, once envisioned by Sir CP Ramaswami Aiyar for quality education, now grapples with scandals and declining standards. Political favoritism, subpar theses, and controversial appointments plague the system. Scholars call for reform as the legacy of excellence gives way to a grim reality of nepotism and educational decay, writes Kumar Chellappan
Sir CP Ramaswami Aiyar, former Diwan of the princely State of Travancore, may be turning in his grave if he were to read about the happenings in Kerala University, which he founded in 1937. All colleges in the provinces of Travancore, Kochi, and Malabar (predecessors to present-day Kerala) were affiliated with Madras University until 1937, which had made higher education inaccessible for students from average and middle-income families. When the university was launched as Travancore University (its name was later changed to Kerala University after the formation of the State of Kerala), Sir CP brought in the best teachers in the country as faculty members. He even approached Albert Einstein with an offer of Rs 6,000 per month as salary to head the physics department. However, for reasons best known to him, Einstein preferred to join Princeton University in the US.
Gone are the days of the Maharaja of Travancore and the Diwan. Sir CP, who aimed to establish a modern Kerala, faced a multitude of calumnies from vested interests, and there was even an attempt on his life. Immediately after the country was liberated from the shackles of colonialism, Sir CP tendered his resignation and returned to his ancestral house, The Grove in Chennai. Soon after the swearing in of the popular governments, Kerala University began its descent into an abyss. The institution has fallen into a Black Hole. Not only Kerala University, but all universities in the State have become cesspools of political manipulations, favoritism, and the appointment of near and dear ones of comrades to senior positions and teaching posts. The appointment of the wives of CPI(M) minister MB Rajesh, Speaker Shamseer, and Chief Minister’s secretary Rakesh in violation of all norms has reached the Supreme Court. Most universities are functioning with temporary vice chancellors following the standoff between the CPI(M) Government and Governor Arif Mohammed Khan. The Governor, famous for his no-nonsense approach to all issues and a stickler for norms, has questioned the double standards of the CPI(M) in the selection of vice chancellors, which has infuriated the commissars and comrades.
What comes next is literally shocking. The degrees, especially the PhDs in humanities, represent the pinnacle of callousness, irresponsibility, nepotism, and spinelessness among the senior staff members. Chintha Jerome, the youngest CPI(M) state committee member, obtained a PhD in English literature by submitting a thesis riddled with spelling and grammar mistakes, as well as factual errors. She couldn't differentiate between Vailoppilli Sreedhara Menon and Changampuzha Krishna Pillai, two romantic poets in the Malayalam language. Even schoolchildren in Kerala are familiar with the significant works of Changampuzha and Vailippilli. Addressing them as Vailoppalli and Krishna Menon is an unpardonable error. Despite her thesis being packed with factual errors, grammatical and spelling mistakes, university authorities gleefully awarded her the PhD. There is a clamour for PhDs among students, as a research degree is essential for a teaching profession according to University Grants Commission guidelines. The Higher Education Department of the Kerala Government has discarded the UGC's directives in the selection procedures for faculty and awarding of doctoral degrees. Jerome has become the subject of jokes on social media due to her subpar English speeches. “There is nothing surprising in the British leaving India in haste, as they were taken aback by the way we speak English,” remarked an academic in the State.
Chintha's case is not a “flash in the pan” example of a substandard doctoral thesis. Sunil Elayidam, a professor at Sree Sankara Sanskrit University, obtained a PhD in Malayalam language only after the intervention of a Marxist minister who requested that he be awarded the doctoral degree. The examiner who reviewed Elayidam's work candidly admitted that the thesis was substandard and did not meet the minimum requirements for a creative work.
He had already made headlines for plagiarising “Bharatanatyam, A Reader”, a work by Davesh Soneji, a social historian based in the US working in the field of performing arts. This earned him the nickname “Suniladi”, rhyming with “Coppiyadi”, Malayalam for copying an original work. Many Marxist leaders in Kerala consider a PhD a status symbol, granting access to the intellectual elite.
“A PhD in the field of art and literature should embody creativity, and the thesis should serve as a reference point for researchers and critics alike," said Professor Ravi Shankar S Nair, an avant-garde critic in Malayalam literature.
Professor Nair, who meticulously evaluates all PhD theses in the state, highlighted a recent “research work” by a student of Sree Sankara Sanskrit University at Kalady. He remarked that the thesis, titled “Onam: A Cultural Analysis”, is of lower quality than an essay authored by a high school student. "The main findings of this PhD thesis assert that thousands of people participate in the Kerala Government-funded Onam-Tourism week with enthusiasm. There is no permanent crowd for this festival; it is a mobile crowd. Since food is freely distributed by temples, all hotels remain closed... these are the findings for which the 'researcher' has been awarded the Ph.D.!" stated Professor Nair.
Appalled by the decline in the quality of higher education, CK Anandan Pillai, a septuagenarian scholar and chief editor of Sahitya Vimarsam, a quarterly magazine, sent a questionnaire to ten academics in the State regarding the selection process of faculties pursued by university authorities and the quality of research theses. All those who responded to Pillai's inquiries were unanimous in their belief that the selection of faculties in universities is the most significant scam of modern times.
"Most of the PhD theses submitted to the universities lack the value of the papers on which they are written. Dustbins are the ideal place for them," remarked RS Sasikumar, an academician with more than three decades of experience. According to KV Thomas, an educationist, PhD theses could be described as the best comedies. "Since none but the candidate reads these creations, there are no complaints," added Thomas. Rasheed Panoor, a teacher with a three-decade-long outstanding track record, suggested that Kerala may be the only State in India where the appointment of vice chancellors is based on caste, community, and religion.
True to what Rasheed has said, the names of vice chancellors are discussed in the liaison committee of the Left Democratic Front before being presented to the Governor.
Sasikumar and his fellow academics have formed a Save University Campaign Committee and submitted a memorandum to Governor Arif Mohammed Khan, who is leading a battle against the CPI(M)-led Kerala Government, requesting him to intervene immediately to rescue the higher education sector in the State from the shackles of Marxists. As this article is being written, yet another PhD scandal has come to light, this time from Sree Sankara Sanskrit University in Kerala. The university awarded a PhD to a Marxist leader for her thesis, which is riddled with errors. Princy Kuriakose, who has been appointed as a member of the Kerala Public Service Commission, claimed in her thesis that Adi Sankara lived during the period 1800 to 1900. When asked about this mistake, the vice chancellor who oversaw the research took the easy way out. “See, I am traveling and did not see any reports about this incident. Let me get back to the University and study the issue,” said Dharmaraj Adat, the then vice chancellor.
The Malayalam term for University is “Sarva Kalaa Saala”, which means an institution that encompasses all forms of arts. However, Anandan Pillai suggests that the ideal Malayalam term should be “Sarva Kalla Saala” (a comprehensive institution for all kinds of thefts - 'Kalla'). There have been instances in the past where individuals going to oil-rich West Asian countries managed to secure employment by presenting wedding invitation letters to Sheikhs as if they were degree certificates from engineering colleges. Welcome to God's Own Country.
(The writer is Chennai-based Special Correspondent of The Pioneer)
