The Syndicate of Kerala University, which met on Thursday (August 13, 2026), decided to recommend to the Governor that honorary doctorate degrees be conferred on veteran actor Madhu, poet Sreekumaran Thampi, former ISRO chairman K. Radhakrishnan, and former Indian hockey team captain P.R. Sreejesh.

Dr. Radhakrishnan will be awarded an honorary DSc degree, while the others will receive honorary DLitt degrees.

Meanwhile, Left-backed members of the Syndicate walked out of the meeting in protest against the decision to appoint T. Vijayalakshmi, a professor in the Tamil department of Kerala University, as the director of UGC-Malaviya Mission Teacher Training Centre (TTC). She will replace the present director Josukutty C.A.

Dr. Josukutty, who is also the campus director, had been given the additional charge of director of the TTC. United Democratic Front (UDF) members proposed the appointment of Dr. Vijayalakshmi as director, citing the view that it was not appropriate for one person to hold both positions.

‘Unilateral move’

However, the Left members strongly opposed the “unilateral” move to remove the director, who, they claimed, had been appointed by the University Grants Commission (UGC) for a three-year term. They also alleged that the issue was taken up without being placed on the Syndicate agenda.

The Syndicate also considered the case of research scholar Vipin Vijayan, who is pursuing a PhD in Sanskrit. It was observed that differing reports had been submitted by the head of the department and the dean regarding the award of the PhD.

Under such circumstances, the Syndicate entrusted its standing committee with the task of directly hearing the explanations of the dean, the research guide and the research scholar before taking a decision on the matter.

Regular appointments

The Syndicate decided to make regular appointments to the vacant posts of registrar and finance officer at the university through deputation.

The meeting decided to award PhD degrees to 32 candidates. It also approved the promotions and appointments of 248 aided-college teachers based on the recommendations of the Syndicate standing committee.

Published - August 13, 2026 08:12 pm IST