Kerala University Vice-Chancellor in-charge Mohanan Kunnummal on Monday held talks with non-teaching staff unions with a view to addressing the complaints that cropped up following an altercation between some Syndicate members and representatives of university staff unions.

Representatives of unions affiliated to the Congress, Communist Party of India, and Bharatiya Janata Party attended the talks, while members of the Communist Party of India (Marxist)-aligned staff union boycotted the meeting.

Dr. Kunnummal, who urged the unions to fully cooperate in ensuring the smooth functioning of the university, attributed the dispute to the “lack of understanding” of university regulations by certain Syndicate members. He also claimed that the Syndicate members do not hold any special administrative powers, and therefore, the employees are not obligated to follow their informal instructions unless official mandated.

Meanwhile, Left-backed Syndicate members charged the Vice-Chancellor of violating university protocols and engaging in “vindictive drama”. They also accused him for locking the Syndicate hall and leaving with the keys, thereby preventing a meeting scheduled to discuss the issue of grace marks for NCC, NSS and differently abled students on Monday.

They also alleged that the Vice-Chancellor insulted Syndicate members, labelling them as uninformed and uneducated. They added Kerala University deserves a Vice-Chancellor who is academically qualified and culturally dignified.

However, the charges were countered by BJP-backed Syndicate members, who claimed that the Left-aligned members were themselves responsible for the cancelled meeting on grace marks.

They claimed that the meeting was scheduled at 10 a.m. It was convened under the chairmanship of the convener of the Syndicate Standing Committee on Examinations. While a few members and staff turned up for the meeting on time, the Left-backed Syndicate members, including the convener, did not take part even after three hours. Eventually, the meeting was dissolved on the direction of the Vice-Chancellor around 1 p.m. due to lack of quorum, they alleged.