CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu Government College Teachers Association (TNGCTA) has urged the state government to end the practice of appointing IAS officers as Director of Collegiate Education (DCE) and restore the long-standing convention of appointing the senior-most government college principal to the post.

TNGCTA general secretary S Suresh said the DCE administers nearly 900 institutions, including 188 government arts and science colleges, aided colleges and self-financing institutions. He said the directorate had been headed by experienced academicians for over three decades, enabling better understanding of higher education administration and campus realities.

According to the association, the government broke the convention in January 2024 by appointing an IAS officer as DCE as part of administrative restructuring. Suresh claimed the appointment was initially meant to be for one year, but a bureaucrat continues to hold the post even after two years.

Mentioning the association having repeatedly raised the issue through protests and representations to senior officials, including to the chief minister, the TNGCTA called the “continued bureaucratic oversight” detrimental to the academic ecosystem.