Government’s attention drawn to V-C selection norms, says Governor

The Vice-Chancellor selection process has to be in consonance with the University Grants Commission (UGC) norms and regulations and the attention of the Tamil Nadu government has been drawn to these rules for early notification of the search committee, Governor-Chancellor R.N. Ravi said

The Vice-Chancellor selection process has to be in consonance with the University Grants Commission (UGC) norms and regulations and the attention of the Tamil Nadu government has been drawn to these rules for early notification of the search committee, Governor-Chancellor R.N. Ravi said on Tuesday.

A meeting of members of the Syndicates, the Senates and the governing bodies of all the State universities was held at the Raj Bhavan on Tuesday. The Governor presided over it. At the meeting, it was highlighted that some universities went without Vice-Chancellors, and this was “affecting their proper functioning”, according to a release from the Raj Bhavan.

It may be recalled that the Bills adopted by the Assembly to empower the government to appoint the Vice-Chancellors of the State universities are pending with the Governor, the government has said. However, the Governor has maintained that these Bills are not pending with him. According to the UGC norms, the Chancellor or his/her nominee on the selection committee have the powers to appoint the Vice-Chancellors.

At the meeting, the members suggested measures to improve the academic standards and administration of the universities. But they also expressed their “concerns over the steady erosion of the autonomy of the universities”.

While the meetings of the Syndicates, the Senates and the governing bodies must be held on the university premises for the members to share their views freely and frankly, such bodies were unable to meet often because of the “unavailability of the Secretary” concerned of the State government. Many a time, such meetings were “held at the Secretariat instead of on the university premises,” the release said.

The release said most State universities were without regular Registrars and Controllers of Examinations. “These posts are being manned for some years by adhoc in-charges.” “The Governor-Chancellor has recently held a meeting of all the Vice-Chancellors and instructed them to initiate the process of filling these posts, without delay, with regular appointees as per the university Acts and statutes,” the release said.