There will be no more delays in appointing new vice chancellors

The higher education department is all set to streamline the process of choosing successors to vice chancellors of universities. The name of the successor would be announced two months in advance.

A provision to this effect has been made in the amended Karnataka State Universities (KSU) Act, 2000, which will be tabled in the ongoing legislature session, according to Higher Education Minister Basavaraj Rayareddy.

The minister on Saturday said, “The draft of the amended KSU Act will be introduced next week. Once it becomes law, then there would be no delay in appointment of vice chancellors to state universities or even the Visvesvaraya Technological University. All universities, except the Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences, would be governed by a single law.”

At present, Bangalore University, the University of Mysore and the Karnataka Folklore University have no regular vice chancellor. These universities have been waiting for new VCs for months.

Rayareddy said, “At present, there is an inordinate delay in appointment of VCs. It is mainly because of delay in constituting search committees to select VCs. To overcome this, the amended Act has made a provision for ‘VC in waiting’ system. This means, the name of a successor would be announced 60 days in advance. In addition, there would be more changes in governance of universities.”

Prof N R Shetty, Chancellor, Central University of Kalaburagi, who was on the panel to draft a comprehensive KSU Act, said the process to bring reforms began in 2000 itself. “We have recommended a common entrance test to appoint assistant professors for all universities. It is to be seen whether the government has accepted this,” he said.

Prof V B Coutinho, former VC of Gulbarga University, who was also on the panel to recommend changes in the Act, said one of the suggestions made to the government was to allow good academicians to get nominated to syndicate and academic councils of universities.

Former VC of Bangalore University M S Thimmappa said earlier there used to be a maximum delay of two weeks in appointing a VC. But now, a university goes headless for months, which is bad. In 2000, the KSU Act was amended to allow the government to appoint a chairman for search committees. Earlier, it used to be the governor, who happens to be the chancellor. This change led to political interference in appointments, he pointed out. He continued: “The day a VC is appointed, it is known that after four years he/she would retire. So, why should there not be any provision for announcing the successor months in advance? What is required is least political interference in the selection process.”