TNTEU Fails to Upload Professor Bio-Data Despite Information Commission Order
In Chennai, the anti-corruption non-governmental organisation Arappor Iyakkam has demanded that the Tamil Nadu Teachers Education University (TNTEU) implement a State Information Commission directive to publish the complete bio-data of teaching staff across all 680 affiliated colleges.
The demand follows the university's failure to fully upload the credentials online, raising concerns over transparency and the potential presence of duplicate faculty members. The issue began in 2024 when M Radhakrishnan of Arappor Iyakkam filed a Right to Information (RTI) plea with the TNTEU after students and professors complained about insufficient teaching staff strength in several colleges.
Radhakrishnan had sought details regarding the affiliation teams set up to inspect the colleges, the dates of their visits, and the list of enrolled professors along with their educational backgrounds. Due to a lack of initial response, he filed an appeal before the state information panel.
During an appeal hearing in April before State Information Commissioner R Priyakumar, TNTEU deputy registrar and public information officer B Vijayakumar stated that the details of the affiliation teams could not be shared as it was personal information. However, he noted that affiliated institutions had been directed to furnish the approved list of faculty members. He also claimed that the university's faculty data had become corrupt and requested a four-month window to rectify and upload the information.
Two months after the hearing, Radhakrishnan reported that he had only received a list containing the names and designations of the professors, without crucial details such as educational qualifications or photographs.
According to Radhakrishnan, the university had directed affiliated colleges to upload their faculty details on their respective websites by May 27, but no college complied with the directive. Arappor Iyakkam has now urged the university to cancel the affiliation of colleges that fail to comply, warning that the lack of transparency could affect BEd and MEd students enrolling for the academic year.
TNTEU registrar K Rajasekaran stated that the process of uploading the faculty members' details is still underway as the university is waiting for all affiliated colleges to share the necessary data.
