MADURAI: The Madurai Kamaraj University (MKU) here, which is well known for its academic and research activities, has today seen once again a protest by its retired employees who have not received their pension for the last two months.
On February 5th 2024, a large number of university pensioners had assembled at the main building before the Vice-Chancellor and Registrar’s office, and urged the MKU Vice-Chancellor and university Registrar to give them their monthly pension immediately because hundreds of retired employees of the varsity are dependent on only their monthly pension.
“It is a very sad moment for us to sit in our university campus on a protest today. There are totally 1,202 pensioners and we have not received monthly pension in last two months due to the reasons cited as financial crisis. There are 422 family pensioners. How can you stop the pension and salary of MKU staff due to the financial crisis and audit objections? It is not at all acceptable, and it is the Government’s responsibility, and the responsibility of MKU Vice-Chancellor and Registrar to ensure that pension and staff salary are given immediately,” Dr.A.Srinivasan, president of MKU Pensioners Association, told reporters after more than three hours sit-in protest in MKU campus today- on February 5th 2024.
The association secretary Mr.A.Swaminathan and joint secretary Mr.T.P.Giridharan have given a strong alert that the MKU pensioners, associations, present staff and others will go to the Secretariat in Chennai very soon if the pension and salary are not disbursed by the university and State government.
“We will take up the issue with our Chief Minister before the Assembly session begins. Our appeal to the IAS officers who are handling the finance, higher education etc is to take a quick positive decision to sanction emergency funds for MKU so that the pensioners and staff their last two month dues. Stopping of salary and pension by citing audit objections of last 30 years is not at all humane because we are not responsible, ” Mr.Swaminathan said today.
The university pensioners have been facing lot of hardships to get their monthly pension in time and the MKU’s financial crisis has made their situation so worse that the university pensioners did not get their last two months pension.
Among those who were present in this important agitation protest include association vice-president T.Zaffarulla, treasurer S.Balagurusamy and others. The MKU Pensioners Association is meeting the university Vice-Chancellor Prof.Dr.J.Kumar and MKU Registrar in-charge Prof.Ramakrishnan to express their concern and demand.
