SALEM: The Association of University Teachers (AUT) has alleged that Periyar University has repeatedly altered its academic year structure in a selective manner to facilitate re-employment for certain retiring professors, while denying similar benefits to others.
In a representation submitted to the state government, the association claimed that while all state universities in Tamil Nadu officially follow an academic year from July 1 to June 30, Periyar University has been inconsistently modifying the academic calendar in different years by either advancing or postponing the academic year, allegedly to extend re-employment benefits to select faculty members nearing retirement.
An AUT member, on condition of anonymity, said that re-employment in universities is generally granted only when a professor retires in the middle of an academic year, so that students are not academically affected. The member said that statutes of Periyar University had mentioned June 1 as the commencement of the academic year, creating ambiguity in interpretation.
The member further said that a syndicate resolution passed in 2019 had clearly adopted July 1 as the academic year commencement in line with other state universities, after which the practice had largely been consistent in most years. However, the member alleged that the university later began deviating from this structure through administrative circulars in select years.
“Though the system is supposed to be uniform across universities, Periyar University has not followed it consistently. The academic year is changed depending on individual cases,” the AUT member alleged.
The member also claimed that in 2024, the university followed the July 1 academic cycle, but in 2025 the schedule was altered again, allegedly to facilitate re-employment for professor who retired in June. The member added that similar benefits were extended to some other professors in previous instances, while others retiring in comparable periods were denied extension.
“Some faculty members retiring in June are given re-employment, while others in the same category were not. There is no uniform application of rules, which is why we are alleging favouritism,” he added.
AUT general secretary K. Raja said the association had repeatedly raised concerns over what it described as inconsistent handling of the academic calendar. “Though all state universities in Tamil Nadu follow a uniform academic year, Periyar University is continuously altering the commencement and closing dates either by preponing or postponing the academic year to suit the requirements of certain individuals,” he said.
“We are bringing this issue to the attention of the newly formed state government because this pattern of changes is not administrative necessity, but appears to be enabling selective re-employment and causing financial implications to a public university.”
Meanwhile, a senior official of Periyar University said that the university statutes originally mention June 1 as the commencement of the academic year, and although a syndicate resolution passed in 2019 adopted July 1 to June 30 as the academic cycle in line with other state universities, it had not received formal approval from the Governor-Chancellor and therefore was not officially incorporated into the statutes.
The official added that in practice the university has been following the July academic cycle, but deviations arise in exceptional cases, particularly when professors retire in June. “It is purely a syndicate decision, and earlier those who were granted re-employment had their cases placed before the syndicate.
Even in the 2026 circular adopting July 1 as the academic year, a professor born in June wil be placed before the syndicate, and the final decision on re-employment will be taken only by the syndicate as per procedure.”
This story has been written by Sneha Sivashanmugam.
