Governor Arif Mohammed Khan has defended his decision to constitute a search committee for the next Vice Chancellor of Kerala University without consulting the State government.
Opening a new confrontation with the government, Mr. Khan sought explanation from the Vice Chancellor of Kannur University on the politically sensitive appointment of Priya Varghese, wife of Chief Minister’s private secretary K.K. Ragesh, as associate professor in Malayalam.
The Governor maintained that he had adhered to the prescribed law while initiating the selection process for the Kerala University Vice Chancellor. “The Act of the university requires that a selection committee be constituted three months before the term of the Vice Chancellor comes to an end. The current [Vice Chancellor’s] term is ending in October and we have less than three months. We wrote to the University Grants Commission (UGC) and the university to propose their nominees as per the law,” he said, while interacting with mediapersons in New Delhi on Saturday.
Pointing out that the university had failed to nominate a representative to the committee, he cited the recent performance audit report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) to suggest that the failure could have been as “they (the university officials) are overburdened.” Nonetheless, a provision has been made to include the university’s nominee when a decision has been made.
Ordinance
On being asked his views on the government’s reported move to bring out an Ordinance to curtail the Chancellor’s powers, the Governor harked back to an assurance that had been made by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan that there would be no interference in the functioning of universities.
The Federation of University Teachers’ Associations (FUTA), however, accused the Chancellor of orchestrating a “political drama” by contravening norms to constitute the panel with two members. He had shown undue haste in initiating the selection process despite three months remaining for the current VC’s term to end, FUTA general secretary P. Paslithil said in a statement.
The Chancellor has sought explanation from Kannur University on the basis of a complaint by the Save University Campaign Committee which alleged violation of UGC norms for appointments to the post of associate professor in university departments. The forum claimed the applicant, Dr. Varghese, had a teaching experience of only three years and 11 months, much less than the requirement of eight years.
