Sanskrit college faces closure in TN

The Sri V Krishnaswami Iyer Sanskrit Education Trust which provides free boarding and lodging to the 130 students in the college premises in Mylapore, is just making ends meet. Despite the financial crisis, the student strength has grown from 60 to 130 in the last few years.

College Secretary B Madhavan told The Indian Express that the management had made several representations to the Centre but in vain. “If the present situation continues, the institution will have to close down in course of time.”

The college, founded by eminent jurist V Krishnaswami Iyer in 1906, just ambles along, thanks to the dedicated trust and the staff members. The college conducts a widely-acclaimed five-year course affiliated to Madras University, `Siromani’. Other popular Sanskrit colleges in Tamil Nadu are the Srirangam Sanskrit College and Rajah’s College, Thiruvaiyaru.

The college which was managed by Sri V Krishnaswami Iyer Sanskrit Education Trust in its initial years, came to be aided aid by the Central Government in 1977. Under the Adarsh Maha Vidyalaya scheme, the Government was to cover 95 per cent of the staff salaries and 75 per cent of the other expenses through contingency grants. The annual grant sanctioned for the college by the Centre is to the tune of Rs 20 lakh.

The staff are yet to get the UGC scale of pay that came into force in 1996. The Centre grant will reach Rs 33 lakh if the UGC scales are to be implemented. Services of five of the 11 lecturers, including the librarian, are yet to be made permanent. The college has no principal for the past seven years.

The trust has been looking westwards for NRI funding and also at the corporate sector to bale it out of the financial crisis. But sadly, nothing substantial has come through so far.