Thesis in Malayalam evaluated by teacher from Tamil Nadu;  Save University Campaign Committee submits petition to Governor seeking action against interim VC

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Save University Campaign Committee has submitted a petition to the Governor seeking cancellation of a PhD awarded in Bharatanatyam by the Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit, alleging that university rules were violated. The committee has also demanded action against the interim Vice-Chancellor.

The PhD was awarded to research scholar P Neethudas. Her thesis was initially sent for evaluation to Dr Divya Nedungadi, a performing arts teacher from Karnataka. The evaluator suggested corrections to the thesis. As per university rules, the thesis should have been revised and resent to the same evaluator, following directions issued by the former Vice-Chancellor.

However, the committee alleged that the interim Vice-Chancellor ignored this instruction and instead sent the thesis for evaluation to another teacher from Tamil Nadu. The complaint states that the thesis, which was written in Malayalam, was sent to an evaluator who does not know Malayalam. Based on a favourable recommendation from this evaluator, the PhD was awarded.

In the petition, the committee demanded that the PhD awarded by interim Vice-Chancellor Dr KK Geethakumary be cancelled, stating that the rules were completely ignored. According to university regulations, a thesis can be sent to a fourth evaluator only if one of the three original evaluators recommends its rejection. The committee also pointed out that sending a Malayalam thesis to an evaluator who does not know the language was a serious lapse on the part of the university.

Dr KK Geethakumary, a Sanskrit professor at Calicut University, was appointed as interim Vice-Chancellor in March 2024 by former Governor Arif Mohammed Khan.