Govt in a hurry to appoint RGUHS VC

Bid to fill post before Bhardwaj's term ends

The State government appears to be in a tearing hurry to appoint the next Vice-Chancellor of the Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences (RGUHS).

Just on Tuesday, the Siddaramaiah government initiated the process to constitute a search committee to shortlist candidates for the VC post.

On Thursday, the committee was in place and, according to official sources, its members will meet as early as  Friday to finalise its recommendations.

This is not all. As planned, the recommendations are also expected to be submitted to Governor H R Bhardwaj on the same day.

In all likelihood, the new VC’s name would also be announced immediately.

Incidentally, Bhardwaj’s term as Governor ends on Sunday. As the chancellor of all the universities in the State, the Governor takes the final call on appointing the VCs. The incumbent VC Dr K S Sriprakash’s term ends only on July 13.

Academicians alleged that the entire process was being rushed through only to ensure that the next VC was appointed before Bhardwaj’s tenure ends.

Sources said Dr Satish Chandra, Director, Nimhans, Dr C N Manjunath, Director, Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Science and Research and Dr Mayil Vahanan Natarajan, former VC of Dr MGR Medical University are members of the search committee.

Probables

The names that are doing the rounds for the VC post include Dr Ravindranath and Dr Jagadeesh, both from Jayadeva Institute, Dr S Sacchidanand and Dr D Prem Kumar, registrars of RGUHS and Dr M K Ramesh, a professor at Bangalore Medical College.

Earlier this month, the appointment of VC of Visvesvaraya Technological University (VTU) triggered a controversy as the credibility of the members of search panel was questioned.

Besides, the extension of tenure for a second term for H Maheshappa as vice-chancellor drew scathing criticism from various quarters.

Similarly, the appointment of VCs to Bangalore and Davangere universities, too, was mired in controversies.

An official in Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences observed that though Dr C N Manjunath is a professional of high repute, his name could not be included in the search panel.

It would be in violation of norms as there were aspirants for the VC’s post from his Institute, he added.