Forest Research Institute Deemed University in Dehradun has never been headed by an academic. All its V-Cs are officers from the Indian Forest Services.
New Delhi: In the 27 years that it has been a deemed university, the Forest Research Institute Deemed University (FRIDU) in Dehradun has never been headed by an academic.
Instead, all of its vice-chancellors since 1991, when it was granted the university status, have been officers from the Indian Forest Services (IFS).
The premier science institute, the only one in the country dedicated to forest research, was set up in 1906.
Since acquiring university status, the FRIDU does not even officially have a designated post of vice-chancellor. The civil servant who serves as the director of Forest Research Institute, which is on the same campus, holds additional charge as the university vice-chancellor.
The facts came to light recently when the appointment of current FRIDU vice-chancellor Dr. Savita, an IFS officer, was challenged in the Delhi High Court by a former scientist, Hilaluddin, who had worked at the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE). The ICFRE is on the same campus as the FRIDU.
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‘Violation of UGC norms’
The scientist claimed that many of the civil servants who served in the post did not have the requisite qualifications as prescribed by the University Grants Commission (UGC). As per UGC norms, the vice-chancellor of a university should have at least 10 years of experience as a professor and an overall experience of 21 years as an academic.
In case of those appointed to FRIDU, all of them have been IFS officers who have had 25 years of work experience in administrative spaces such as development officer in a forest and not in academic spaces.
The Delhi High Court, however, dismissed the plea saying the vice-chancellor of the university was merely ‘designated as VC’ and there was no such sanctioned post.
Since the HRD Ministry conferred the status of deemed to be university upon FRI and “the FRI has no sanctioned posts of vice-chancellor and faculty members (Asstt. Professor, Associate Professor, Professor etc.)”, therefore, the director, FRI, has also been designated as vice-chancellor, the court said in its order dated 22 November 2018.
The forest research university
The mandate of FRIDU is to impart education in different branches of forestry and environment, conduct research and advancement and dissemination of knowledge in the field of forestry and environment.
It is the only government institute of its kind in India conducting research and study on forestry. It offers programmes such as M.Sc. Forestry, M.Sc. Wood Science & Technology, M.Sc. Environment Management, M.Sc. Cellulose and Paper Technology. It also offers specialised PhD programmes on the subjects.
“The appointment of a bureaucrat and not an academician at an institute of such repute is not good for overall academic excellence. A bureaucrat would know management issues more than basic science such as Pathology, Entomology,” said a senior scientist at the university.
“It is important for the head of an institution to know these things because he or she will also head the academic council, which is the highest academic body in a university.”
The appointment of non-academics as vice-chancellors has been in controversy previously too when the appointment of Zamiruddin Shah as Aligarh Muslim University V-C was challenged in court. Shah, a retired Brigadier was appointed as V-C in the university, whereas, UGC rules say that the post should be occupied by a professor.
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*Zamiruddin Shah is not a retired Brigadier but a retired Lt.General from the post of Deputy Chief of Army Staff (the contrary has been mentioned in the last paragraph).