New Delhi: Even as at least two state governments await nod from their Raj Bhavans on Bills replacing the governor as the chancellor of state universities, the Centre has clarified in a reply in Parliament that the appointment of governor as chancellor of a university is very much the mandate of the state legislature.
“Governors are appointed as Chancellors in the State Universities as per the provisions mentioned in the respective University Act, which is enacted by the State Legislature. However, recently, in some States, some other Constitutional authority has been proposed as Chancellor, by bringing out legislative changes in the Act,” Minister of State for Education Annapurna Devi told the Lok Sabha on Monday.
She was replying to a question asked by Congress MP Adoor Prakash. Earlier this month, the Pinarayi Vijayan-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) government in Kerala brought two Bills in the assembly to remove Governor Arif Mohammed Khan as chancellor of state universities. The passage of the Bills was the latest in a long and bitter feud that the LDF government and the governor have been locked in over the appointment of vice-chancellors in 14 state universities.
The genesis of the tussle in Kerala has its roots in the Supreme Court. After the appointment of one vice-chancellor in a university in Kerala was overturned by the apex court, Khan, in his capacity as chancellor of universities, had asked nine vice-chancellors to resign. That order was infructuous following a court order but since then, another V-C appointment too has been cancelled. The state government responded with the Bill removing Khan as chancellor.
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Issue in West Bengal, TN too
Meanwhile, in West Bengal too, the matter of V-C appointments has become contentious with the Supreme Court chiding the government that it cannot usurp the powers of the chancellor in the appointment of vice-chancellors.
In June, the West Bengal Assembly passed a Bill replacing the governor as chancellor of universities with the chief minister. That Bill was returned by then governor Jagdeep Dhankhar, who is now the vice-president. The Bill remains in a limbo even as there is now a new governor. The apex court has since accused the government of “usurping” the powers of the chancellor.
A similar script is playing out in Tamil Nadu where Governor R. N. Ravi is at loggerheads with the state government over V-C appointments and has been accused of sitting on a Bill replacing him with CM M.K. Stalin as the chancellor of universities.
In her written reply, the minister also dwelt on the matter of V-C appointments but clarified that the Centre has not received any reference from Kerala. “The University Grants Commission (UGC) has framed UGC (Minimum Qualifications for Appointment of Teachers and other Academic Staff in Universities and Colleges and other Measures for the Maintenance of Standards in Higher Education) Regulations, 2018, notified in the Gazette of India on 18th July, 2018. Clause 7.3 of aforesaid Regulations contains the criteria for selection of Vice-Chancellor. This Ministry has not received any reference from the State Government of Kerala on the matter,” she said.
The clause in question pertains to the eligibility of a person to be appointed as V-C and the process of appointment. It lays down: “A person possessing the highest level of competence, integrity, morals and institutional commitment is to be appointed as Vice-Chancellor. The person to be appointed as a Vice-Chancellor should be a distinguished academician, with a minimum of 10 years’ of experience as Professor in a University or 10 years’ of experience in a reputed research and/or academic administrative organisation with proof of having demonstrated academic leadership.”
(Edited by Smriti Sinha)
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