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.
The members, who suggested that the syllabus and the teaching and learning methodology be brought in tune with the needs and demands of the time, also wanted the UGC norms and guidelines be adopted without delay, it said. There were a large number of vacancies on the teaching and non-teaching staff at most of the universities and there was an “urgent need to make the recruitment process transparent to ensure the selection of only eligible candidates.” Suggestions were made for effective university-industry linkages to ensure better job opportunities for students.
“We also need to engage, on a short-term basis, the experienced professors from industries as “Professor of Practice” at the university, which will motivate students with practical insights into entrepreneurship,” it added.
