The proliferation of politics has only led to a decline in the quality and management of our universities. Even though other states have progressed a lot in the field of higher education, Kerala is almost standing still without making much progress. Majority of the bright students who complete Plus Two now go to centres of excellence outside the state or abroad for higher studies. This predicament is mainly due to the fact that our universities are more interested in politics than academics. Beyond academic qualifications, strong support from the ruling party plays an important role in finding VCs.

This often leads to conflict between the governor and the government. The first victims of this dispute are the students themselves. When there is a state of stagnation in the administration of the universities, it creates hurdles to complete the course and get the certificates. The second victim is the few officials who want the university to be governed in an honest and fair manner. Such employees, caught in the middle of the dispute between the governor and the government, will have to face many retaliatory measures later on. Only the courts can provide relief from this and it is a very costly matter. Not everyone can do it.

In this context, Ciza Thomas's success in suing the government should be seen as a shining victory of truth and justice. The Supreme Court dismissed the petition without even hearing the argument, with a warning not to make government employees scapegoats in the dispute between the governor and the state government. The court expressed displeasure with the action of the government which filed the petition. This is a completely unnecessary blow that the government has brought upon itself. For the last one and a half years, the government has been carrying out retaliatory measures against Ciza Thomas, who held the position of VC of the Technical University. Dr MS Rajasree was removed from the post of KTU VC by the Supreme Court. The government had suggested another person's name to replace her. However, the governor rejected the name citing that the disqualification criteria mentioned by the Supreme Court would also apply to this person and appointed Dr Ciza, a senior joint director. Since then, Ciza has become the target of the government's retaliation. Despite being blocked by SFI members and left-wing activists, Ciza took office with the help of the police, a further blow to the government.

The protesters had to retreat after the High Court dismissed the case against the appointment of the VC. Hence, Ciza remained as VC for six months. She retired on March 31 last. Before that, the government tried to suspend her but failed. Even after retirement, the government continued to retaliate by withholding pension benefits. When Ciza went to the High Court against this, she got a favourable verdict. It should have ended there. The government went to the Supreme Court instead of that and got what it deserved from there. The government should put an end to this absurd drama at least now by paying her benefits properly.