The fag end of legislature sessions are often used as a sailboard by governments to push through new legislation or amendments which are bound to cause a flutter.

After being at each other's throats for days on end, the ruling and Opposition members usually display a bonhomie at close of season and the opportune moment is capitalised on. The Karnataka State Universities (Amendment) Bill, 2007, found similar passage in the State legislature last week.

The Bill seeks to fix a three-year term of office for members other than ex-officio members of the Syndicate. The Bangalore University's (BU) Syndicate stands to benefit from this, particularly the six government-nominated members, who were inducted in April last.

These members, who should have retired in November (as the Syndicate used to be reconstituted every three years), will now have an extended lease of life up to April 2010. Two of these government nominees are described as “political” inductees and one of them, a practising advocate, was also on the previous list of “infamous five” turned down by former Vice-Chancellor M S Thimmappa for not meeting the criterion of  an “eminent educationist”.

The government, which then tried to promulgate an ordinance to push its will, failed as the Governor refused his assent. After lying low for long, the government sprang the surprise nominations in April.

Before the amendment, the Syndicate members’ term was for three years or until reconstitution, whichever was earlier. A fixed term per se is good as delay in nomination would truncate the term of members. But, eliminating the  need to reconstitute the Syndicate, every November 5 for BU, enables the government to foist nominees and also make it smooth sailing.

Syndicate members have wide discretionary powers of administering the funds and property of the university, increasing annual student intake in affiliated colleges and recruiting faculty. A critical Syndicate resolution, enabling only senior-most professors and Deans of faculty to head Local Inquiry Committees for inspection and affiliation of colleges, has also been withdrawn. Apparently, education cannot be left to business-innocent educationists.