NESTLED AMIDST THE VERDANT HILLS of Kerala’s Malappuram district lies a campus of national importance that has remained largely invisible from public scrutiny. The Aligarh Muslim University Centre at Malappuram (‘AMUMC’) is home to over four hundred students from more than seventeen different states. Lately, it has become an unlikely epicenter of recurring protests against what students allege is entrenched administrative corruption.
At the heart of these accusations stand two figures – the Director and the Provost – whose financial management has sparked unprecedented student unrest and raised fundamental questions about institutional oversight and accountability. On reaching the director and the provost for an interview about the ongoing protests and corruption allegations against them, no response was received.
A pattern of financial irregularities
The current crisis erupted in March when some students uncovered a probable systematic embezzlement by the administration. It is alleged by the student fraternity that the provost working in collusion with the director has misappropriated surplus funds amounting to Rs 3,88,408 for the 2023-24 session. This discovery was particularly troubling since the mess operations are entirely funded by student fees, with the parent institution in Aligarh repeatedly citing financial constraints for its inability to support its satellite campuses adequately.
