It was an unpretentious, calm and down-to-earth registrar that we met to try and shed some light on the polemic which has rocked the university this week. She agreed to give her side of the story. A side which is little known.

¦ To the outsider, the story that comes out the university polemic is one of score settling. Is that what it is?

Score settling? I don’t understand …

¦ The administration, it would seem, is settling scores with the lecturers.

No, not at all. That is not how I view it. It may be the impression that some get outside but my working relationship with most academics, I would say, is good.

¦ You did not say “very good”. Is that intentional?

Only in the sense that I don’t deal directly with them very much. They deal more with the dean of their faculty and if they want to deal at higher levels, they would normally go to the vice chancellor.

¦ What is going on is not going to help. You have just come out of the polemic surrounding the restructuring plan of Professor Morgan. The guy apparently left because you were opposed to that plan.

No, that is not it at all. I was mostly in favour of the original Morgan plan. However, the very first day it was presented to the university council, it was put for further discussion at the level of a subcommittee of the council. What followed was a very different plan.

¦ Why was it changed?

I can’t really comment on that but I have a good idea. If you think about it with an objective mind: Professor Morgan had worked in many universities in many parts of the world. Many people knew him via the internet and many people knew him from what he said while he was in Mauritius. He has worked in North America, in Europe, especially Northern Europe (Scandinavia), UK and the Middle Eastern countries. So he was quite familiar with a few different university systems. He was the appropriate person in the field of tertiary education to write a good proposal. He was objective. He didn’t have any friends or foes in this university. He consulted all the grades of staff at the university before he wrote his report which was finalized in December 2010. Now, after he consulted all the staff and after he had experienced so many different university systems, he came up with a very good plan for the University of Mauritius (UoM) and I was, in general, agreeable to his plan, apart from a few issues which did not fall under the purview of the university council. These were matters that are decided outside the university.

¦ In that case why didn’t his plan go ahead?

The then Council had asked Professor Morgan to come up with a plan to reorganize the UoM and he did that work alone and objectively. Somehow this plan, by an expert in the field, was reviewed by a subcommittee of that council and was considerably changed and a second proposal suddenly appeared. Petitions were received from more than 200 staff members who were not in agreement with this second plan. I am not the only one. I did meet some members of that subcommittee once, the very same committee which was looking into the reorganization, the very same committee which proposed the second plan. They wanted to see how we could discuss issues which I was not agreeable to. I told them: if it’s for the benefit of the university, there are other options.

¦ The option of letting go of you? You would cost them a lot.

(Laughs) Not at all. Only what the law provides.

¦ Why did you offer them that possibility?

Because I didn’t want to be an impediment to the reorganization. But there were many others who were strongly against it. I, certainly, alone could never have stopped a reorganization.

¦ One person cannot but one lobby can.

(She takes on a more serious tone) If you think that there is one lobby, how can you be sure that there are not more than one ...?! There was a group of persons who have protested and felt they were not consulted enough on the new changes. There had been consultations before the first plan was written but they were not all consulted when the second plan was finalised. So, these people may or may not, I don’t know, have been the people who protested at different levels. There had been reactions from many staff members and eventually an independent taskforce was set up by the UoM council. The independent taskforce was composed of - and some are still helping out today - people who are not internal to the university.

¦ For objectivity?

For more objectivity, issues of ethics and conflicts of interest. For the first report by Morgan, all grades had an opportunity to express themselves. They gave their opinion but it stopped there.

¦ I would like to take you back to the promotion exercise which has triggered so many protests and even accusations. Why do we have to be in this situation?

I anticipated your question and I can give you some figures and you can draw your own conclusions. I cannot talk about what happened before April 2006 when I assumed duty as registrar though. Figures: successful applicants 69 %. The following year: 35%. Then, 52 %, followed by 25 %. Again, 45 % followed by 25 %.

¦ But it’s not so much the percentage. I think that people are talking about favouritism.

The committees strictly follow approved established procedures and assessment criteria, as per the approved O’Connor report and the official academic promotion framework.

¦ Some people say that there are assessors who came to assess them, and on whose judgment you presumably were going to base the promotions, who were not even experts in the field.

We have to adhere to the approved O’Connor report and the approved procedures and provisions for the promotion exercise of academics, which have been in use for many years now and have been found acceptable by the stakeholders.

¦ But does the O’Connor report you are tossing at me mean that assessors don’t have to be from the same field of expertise to judge somebody’s research?

The assessment is done as per the provisions of the O’Connor report which outlines the membership of the different committees and that is what has been applied for many years and found satisfactory.

¦ And what about the external assessors, those who come from the UK?

The professorship final assessments are not done in Mauritius. They are done overseas. Prior to that, there is a preliminary assessment locally.

¦ What you are telling me is that according to the preliminary assessment, the people who have not been promoted did not do enough research?

No, I am only saying that the assessors did not recommend them - either for further assessment or for promotion but they could still have recourse to the appeal process.

¦ Were there academics on the committees?

Of course. The committees were properly constituted as per the O’Connor report and as per the provisions of the UoM statutes.

Coming back to the reorganisation plan, where is it now?

You know how many reports there are for the electoral reform? You can compare the issue of the electoral reform with the reform proposed for the university or any other reform. Almost everywhere where there is proposed reform, there is resistance. This resistance has to be addressed. There has been resistance to both the original Morgan plan and the second plan from the subcommittee. These protests are from those who do not agree with what has been proposed in one plan or the other...

¦ Why don’t they agree?

This is something you have to ask them!!!

¦ I’m asking you why you think that they do not agree.

(Hesitates) I think that possibly they may not agree because some changes proposed have been viewed as too complex and extensive. Too many changes would be happening together and they could be viewed as initially difficult to cope with at certain levels. Some have stated that they view some changes proposed as entailing a demotion or a loss of career prospects. This is what I have heard them say.

¦ What do YOU think, personally?

Personally, I think that in an ideal situation, there would be deans, directors, deputy registrars, managers and assistant registrars at the university. They would work under the vice chancellor or the pro-vice chancellor and the registrar but would all have a degree of independence. We would thus decentralize many aspects of the university administrative work.

¦ Is decentralization not one of the major recommendations of the Morgan plan?

Yes, in the very first plan, Morgan had proposed a structure to decentralize many aspects of university activities. The second proposal from the subcommittee also proposed a decentralized system to speed up various processes. The key question is: do we have enough financial resources to decentralize?

¦ But these issues are irrelevant to what the university is going through today with the promotions and problems surrounding that exercise.

The promotion exercise is still not over and applicants have the right to appeal. So it is not right to view this as a “problem”. All applicants have the right to protest if they are not satisfied with the outcome of their application. They have a legitimate right to appeal as per the O’Connor report and the approved procedures and provisions for promotion.

¦ There is a lot of criticism from outside to the effect that there is not enough research going on at the university and, whatever little there is, most of it is not in the right areas?

I can only tell you how much money is spent on research out of our annual budget. It is a percentage of about 1%. Don’t you think that the Morgan proposal and the second proposal should have addressed these issues as a matter of priority? How to boost research at the UoM? Don’t forget that the Mauritius Research Council and other sources also fund research done by our academics. 1%?

¦ So you must be saving a lot of money then?

Saving money how?

¦ If your lecturers are not coming up with valid research projects.

Well, I am not saying that. You are saying it.

¦ And why aren’t lecturers doing enough research?

That’s what you must ask them, madam, not me.

¦ No, I want the answer from you.

I am giving you the figures. 82 per cent of our total budget goes to staff costs – 82% out of which 52% are for academic staff costs.

¦ That means your staff is working?

That means they are working and they are being paid for that.

¦ So coming back to this promotion exercise, is it true that a person who had vested interests actually sat through the assessment?

I repeat that all prevailing approved procedures and rules have been strictly adhered to.

¦ But the person whose wife was concerned - apparently he declared his interest but then he participated in the promotion exercise?

He NEVER considered the case of his wife!

I understand that but he still considered the cases of those who were competing against her.

The new rules were approved long ago because all relevant parties concerned were agreeable - when some difficulties were faced because many committee members were having to declare interest for a whole exercise.

But why did you accept this situation?

I just told you: there were some difficulties being faced. Once a decision is taken it has to be implemented.

¦ Now that there is no vice chancellor. So how are you coping, is it a situation of chaos?

Not at all! We have an Ag vice chancellor! A vice chancellor (VC) should be appointed soon. We have not had a pro vice chancellor since July 2010. That’s almost two years.

¦ And you are still telling me the situation is not chaotic with so many people’s positions not filled?

It has been difficult but not chaotic. Even when the VC and pro VCs are there, all policy decisions are taken in a collegial manner. Everything is done by a committee system. The VC is not here but the senate is operational. Two pro VCs are not here but the sub-committee of the senate is operational. Policies are always made at the level of committees and decisions are taken accordingly.

¦ What is your reaction to Rajesh Jeetah’s plan to have one graduate per family?

I think this is government policy. I was looking at application figures. For many years,  we have been able to admit only a proportion of our applicants. In 2007-2008, we had 14,672 applications for courses when one person could apply for up to three courses: only 3,080 students were admitted. In 2008-2009, 24,836 applications were received from applicants who could each submit six applications and 3,334 were admitted. Now, if the government looks at the fi gures, it could either decide to make the university bigger or to have another university.

¦ Yes, this is what the debate is about. The opposition is saying that let’s have colleges or institutes as part of the University of Mauritius while the government wants to have a separate university at Beau Plan.

People living in the north may prefer that their children attend a university nearby to avoid lengthy travel. Just as for the regionalization of schools - I don’t think it is a bad thing. Even foreign universities are being set up here. Competition is healthy. The statistics speak for themselves. We have had more and more applications because not only school leavers are applying. Many mature students want to go for further studies. Many want to study at least up to a masters while others still want to have a second masters in other disciplines.

¦ People around you say you have a high sense of integrity but you are a control freak. I expect you will happily accept the compliment and reject the criticism, won’t you?

They THINK I control everything. I will tell you why. Because I am the chief admin officer under the VC ad my statutory duties require that I provide secretarial services to the council, the senate, the budget committee and the staff committee. These are the four main committees and also the audit committee. But when it comes to taking decisions, I have no vote. So when people say the registrar is a powerful person it’s absolutely not true.

¦ Could it have something to do with the fact that you are a woman?

Possibly, but I have never given this much thought.

¦ Or is it really an issue of academics and non-academics? Is it that rift between the administration and academics?

Before the proposals for reforms there were no major issues between academics and non-academics!

¦ When you leave this university, how would you like to be remembered by posterity?

As a registrar who worked really hard for the university - especially during a long period when there were no pro-VCs and even a substantive VC for a few months. You said – I didn’t - that I am known for my sense of integrity! So I hope to be remembered for that as well. We have been mainly trying to cope with more students while adapting to financial stringency. When I became the registrar, there were around 7,500 students and now there are around 11,300. There has been an increase of 50% for students while our staff has been increased by only 10 %. About 15% of the budget has been spent on office supplies, utilities, maintenance and infrastructure etc and 82% on staff costs. So we have definitely done more with less and that goes to the credit of all staff and students and I thank all of those who have supported me in my responsibilities.

TOURIA PRAYAG
(l’express Weekly, Friday 18 May 2012)

TOURIA PRAYAG